Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex
by Alex Boehm
Summary: The Meterex war is over, and those brave souls who brought an end to the killer robots have been reorganized into a group known as Heroes. This group is tasked with stopping major threats all over the world, from Zootopia to Chima. However as a new large scale conflict breaks out, those in Heroes must strengthen themselves to fight a long war, against a dark, yet familiar foe.
1. Chapter 1: Tying Up Loose Ends

Welcome, Welcome one and all to the second book of my own personal story series staring yours truly, Alex Final Wars! I'm back with the second book in the series, and I can promise that this one will have a more diverse cast of characters, and still maintain the epic combat from the first book!

Anyway, let's get into some information about the story so you can understand it more. Now, this is the second book, Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex, so take note of that. Now, this universe that I have constructed draws characters, events, worlds, etc, from all sorts of themes and things I've been interested in throughout my life. Be well aware of that, and you'll meet all sorts of people and places you may or may not know about as you progress through the book.

I will now show you a very short timeline of the events in the AFW universe, as to better help you understand what's going on:

 **2018 - The meterex arrive to wreak havoc on earth with the help of factions they have brought under their control. Thanks to Alex and his allies, the meterex are destroyed (Alex Final Wars)**

 **2019 - (Alex Final Wars 2: Dark Alex)**

Now let's meet some of the returning characters and see what they' been up to since last time!

 **Alex Boehm:** with the help of his friends and a few world governments, the legendary warrior has created an organization known as 'Heroes', which is dedicated to keeping the peace in an unstable world! The leadership and fighting skills of this young man, Heroes will do their best to make sure the world remains safe!

 **Toothdee:** After the meterex war and the battle of Zootopia, Toothdee is still ready to stop any force that threatens peace and justice. She is Alex's second in command and best fighter. Even though no one knows what species the blue-furred, long-tailed mammal is, her skills cannot be denied.

 **Nick Wilde:** the sly fox still lives in Zootopia, and still works at the Zootopia Police Department. While it might not look like it, the fox is still a capable fighter and is ready for anything! He keeps in touch with Alex, Toothdee and many other mammals, when not spending time with Judy.

 **Judy Hopps:** Having made the world a much better place while defeating the meterex, this young bunny keeps patrols the streets and continues to make Zootopia a safer and better place for everyone. Even though she and Nick remain in the police department, they will answer the call to fight for something greater if Alex needs them.

 **Laval:** This lion prince is still as brave and fun as ever, spending his time riding his speedor and keeping his skills sharp. Most of his day is taken up by either meeting friends or messing around with a vehicle or weapon. He has also been spending a lot of private time with Eris.

 **Eris:** still residing in Chima, Eris continues to hone her piloting skills, and make sure her axe is battle ready. She also continues to read and do her best to help the eagle tribe, while still taking time to run off with Laval for an adventure. The two remain inseparable and flirt often, even in front of other friends.

Anyway, I REALLY hope all of you guys enjoy this book because I've certainly had a lot of fun constructing the world in this story. So, thank you all for taking the time to read this, and please enjoy the story!

 **00000000000**

The bridge of the typhoon was an unusual shape when it came to warship bridges, then again the typhoon was not your average warship. It didn't float, it flew, something that set it apart from other US warships. The bridge of the vessel was sort of semicircular in shape, with multiple chairs where individuals sat and controlled parts of the ship via computers and buttons. The curved side of the bridge was made of large glass panels that enabled perfect viewing of the surroundings, while at the same time being capable of resisting high amounts of damage. A small set of stairs near the center of the bridge lead to a raised captains chair, that had 2 horizontal levers for driving the ship. Right now the bridge was completely dark, all computer displays on various control panels were off, save for the main screen which provided the only lighting. Alex and Toothdee stood on the bridge, watching the illuminated screen. Projected for their viewing, was an orbital view of a meterex compound in a remote location. Both of them were dressed in black combat fatigues, which were standard issue for the Heroes organization. The pair also wore high-quality armor, which looked golden in color. The armor was heavy duty and could stop a lot of damage from bullets and blades alike. The armor also contained a Chi slot, enabling the wearer to use an orb of chi to "chi up" for intense battles.

"This is it," Toothdee said "the last pocket of meterex resistance that we have found. With it gone, the meterex will be no more."

"Let's hope so," Alex said "but I have to say, every time a meterex group crawls out of the woodwork, Heroes gets a boost in funding, so I'm not complaining."

Heroes was an organization that Alex, Toothdee, and some of their companions set up after they put down the meterex forces that were staging attacks all over the world. Funded by world governments, mainly the US, who were impressed with their work in the meterex war, the organization was a well-known force for good. Normally tasked with stopping dangerous groups like terrorists or gangs, they also participated in peacekeeping and relief efforts.

"Ha, neither am I," Toothdee said, responding to Alex's claims of increased funding for the group "But this compound looks heavily fortified. We haven't spotted any armor or vehicles, however, there are a lot of troops."

"What's with the large satellite dish? Just communications?"

"I believe so. But how do you want to play this? It'll certainly be a tough fight."

"Don't worry." Alex said, holding up 2 fingers "I have 2 new heroes fresh out of training who are just itching to get out in the field."

The door behind Alex and Toothdee opened, flooding the room with light. 2 figures dressed in combat armor walked into the room, a young male Zootopian lion, and a young female Zootopian hyena.

The lion had a bright red mane shaped like a mohawk and eyes of light brown, while the hyena had long hair with a purple streak, and eyes that were dark purple in color. The 2 individuals were also dressed in standard Heroes combat fatigues and armor. The pair stopped in front of Alex and Toothdee before raising their hands in salute.

"Kion Priderock reporting for duty," the lion said.

"Jasiri Outlander reporting for duty," the hyena said.

Alex and Toothdee saluted the pair before Alex told them "At ease."

Kion and Jasiri placed their hands behind their backs while Alex went over the plan.

"Ok, Me, Kion and Jasiri will head into the compound and plant explosives throughout the building. When detonated these will create a chain reaction that should destroy the entire compound. There is a power plant at the center of the base, we will concentrate most of our explosive firepower there, to deal the most damage. We are also tasked with retrieving any information we can find at this compound. Information that might alert us to any pockets of hidden meterex activity, should they exist. After the explosives are planted and intel recovered, Toothdee will come and pick us up in a helicopter, before we evac and destroy the compound."

Kion and Jasiri nodded in unison, understanding what was going to transpire.

"Let's see how you 2 do in the field," Alex said.

"We won't let you down." Kion responded, ready to get into a real combat situation.

"Judging by your training, there's no way you could. Now head to the hanger, let's get our gear."

The typhoon's armory was located near the hanger bay, meaning that you could just grab your gear before hopping into a vehicle and heading out on a mission. Racks of all kinds of weapons were situated on every wall, holding every kind of weapon from rocket launchers to knives. Workbenches also resided in the room, alongside proper tools, in the event someone needed to modify or work on their weapon. The entire room was also locked with a retinal scanner, preventing unauthorized access.

Upon arriving at the armory, Kion picked up one of his weapons of choice, a long sword with a simple design. The sword didn't have a fancy trick it could do or elegant engravings, but it was made from a material that was capable of deflecting most small arms fire. The lion swung the sword in his hand, making sure the balance and weight were perfect, before tucking the weapon into a holster on his back. He also carried firearms, such as a pistol and rifle, but he loved using a sword. There was something almost elegant about a sword, using it was almost like a dance on the battlefield, except a wrong move might result in death. Kion also donned a flack jacket that looked like a leather coat, making it both functional and somewhat fashionable.

Jasiri put on a combat helmet that was designed for Hyenas, before picking up a pair of pistols. The guns were decorated with purple lines and markings, and the weapons had been modified to fire quickly, while still delivering a powerful punch. The hyena tucked the pistols into specially designed holsters on her hips. These holsters would automatically refill Jasiri's weapons with a fresh magazine if the hyena just held the pistols in the right position a tiny bit above the holster. Because she duel-wielded, her reload time was much quicker than manually inserting a new magazine into each pistol.

While his partners got themselves situated with their gear, Alex picked up his weapon from a table nearby. A G36 assault rifle, modified with an extended magazine, forward grip, and powerful scope. The weapon was painted in a shiny golden color and could shoot powerful shots at a high rate of fire. Alex also grabbed his sword, a Chima style weapon, consisting of a gold-colored hilt and one large silver colored the main blade split into 2 smaller blades, with an area of unfilled space going up the center of the weapon. When wielded by Alex, chi power would fill the space at the center of the weapon, allowing him to deliver devastating strikes to opponents. But what really made the weapon special was the chi blaster embedded in the hilt. This enabled Alex to fire chi blasts while at the same time engaging opponents with the blade of the weapon, allowing him much more dexterity on the battlefield.

Alex also carried an A.J.M. 9 pistol, which was hard hitting and silenced, making it perfect for stealthy operations. Lastly, Alex wore what looked like normal sunglasses, but they were anything but normal. They contained a heads-up display that could mark objectives for Alex, recognize faces with a camera on the nose bridge, and even tell Alex how much ammo his weapon had left by linking to sensors in the gun. Alex put the rifle and sword on his back, tucked the pistol in his holster, and donned his sunglasses, before the team picked up other gear they would need, such as medkits and grenades.

Once the team was geared up, they were ready to move out. Getting into a helicopter piloted by Toothdee, the team was flown towards the meterex base, but they would have to land and hike in for part of the journey, as flying the helicopter any closer could alert the meterex forces. Alex, Kion and Jasiri got out of the helicopter once it landed, and Toothdee lifted off before flying away, ready to pick up the team once their mission was complete.

Human, Lion, and Hyena hiked through the woods that made up this part of the world, taking periodic brakes so they would not be too tired when battling the meterex in the compound. Soon they came upon a constructed barricade, and that's when the team knew that they had reached their objective.

"Here we go, get ready. Safety's off." Alex said.

"How about a kiss for good luck." Kion whispered to Jasiri.

"Not now Kion, we're in the middle of a mission."

"It doesn't bother me," Alex said. "Feel free to show affection, but I will say this..."

Jasiri obliged Kion's request with a quick peck on his cheek.

"...is this Star Wars? Are you two gonna kiss for luck before swinging across a chasm?"

Kion chuckled while the team moved into some bushes nearby, to keep hidden as their eyes scanned the clearing in front of them. Soon the group spotted 4 meterex soldiers on guard. The sun reflecting off the brown metal that made up their bodies, and their large purple eyes watching for any enemies. Weapons clutched firmly in their metal hands. Most Meterex were spindly and thin robots, but their heads were large and shaped sort of like a rounded triangle.

The group snuck closer to get in a better attack position, before planning their strike. Alex gave the signal, before opening fire on one of the meterex units. The bullets quickly subdued the robot, and Alex directed his attention to another meterex unit. Jasiri opened fire with her pistols, aiming for the head of one robot. The shots shattered the eyes and armor of the unit, quickly rendering it destroyed. Jasiri then targeted another meterex unit nearby, just as Alex had done. Sprinting out of cover, Kion swung his sword with all his might, decapitating a meterex soldier like a hot knife going through butter. Alex and Jasiri both opened fire on the last hostile unit, quickly killing it under a hail of bullets.

"Move up," Alex said, as the team continued down an alleyway before emerging into another small courtyard. This courtyard, however, contained a heavy meterex unit. Standing half a meterex taller than a normal meterex unit, and purple in color, this unit's body was blocky in shape, along with its large legs and arms. A cube-shaped head sat upon the unit, with a big red eye that fed the robot information. Embedded in its hands were heavy machine guns, along with powerful fists for melee attacks, or lifting objects.

"I'll handle this, boys," Jasiri said, stepping towards the heavy unit. The robot emitted a loud, almost battle cry like sound, before charging at the hyena, who dodged out of the way. Jasiri used this opportunity to fire her pistols at critical points on the meterex, dealing heavy damage. The hyena once again dodged another strike and used the same tactic of firing at critical points. The heavy meterex slammed its fist onto the ground, trying to crush Jasiri, who evaded the attack and jumped onto its arm. Running up the robot's arm, Jasiri jumped off its head, while dropping a grenade onto the unit. The grenade exploded violently, destroying the unit while Jasiri landed on the ground.

"Good job," Alex said, complementing the hyena while the group continued deeper into the compound. As they entered the next area they were greeted by 3 normal meterex as well as 2 elite meterex units. Elite meterex looked the same as normal meterex, accept they were yellow and black in color. Also in their arms were a pair of blades for engaging hostiles in melee combat.

Jasiri got into a firefight with the normal meterex units while Alex drew his sword before him and Kion approached the elite meterex. The pair clashed blades with the meterex, sending sparks flying as they fought. Alex deflected a strike from the elite unit before getting into a sword lock. Kicking the unit back, Alex slashed the meterex's blades out of his way, opening the unit's guard and enabling him to stab the hostile in the chest.

With his opponents defeated, Alex turned to see Kion severing the head of his own opponent, while Jasiri finished off the last meterex soldier.

"All clear!" The hyena yelled.

"Let's move inside," Alex said "see if we can find and capture the meterex commander, they have to have some valuable intel."

The trio headed through a small door on one of the buildings, and Alex spotted what appeared to be a structural support column on the side of the large room they were in. He quickly took out a small bundle of C4, and attached it to the column, before arming the device. After the charge was planted, the team moved down a large hallway and came face to face with 3 more meterex units. These units looked like normal meterex, but they were each equipped with a shotgun and assault rifle, both built into their hands.

"Oh boy, specialist meterex," Alex said

The units opened fire, prompting the team to fall back to a more defendable position.

"I haven't seen much of this kind of meterex," Alex said as the meterex entered the room and engaged the team "but watch out."

Alex tossed a grenade that landed near the feet of one unit, exploding and reducing the unit to scrap metal. Jasiri began to use crates as cover, sneaking around behind the units, before popping out and blowing the head off one. The hyena got back in cover as the last unit focused its shotgun fire on her, while at the same time continuing to suppress Alex and Kion with its rifle.

Alex drew his sword and got out of cover, getting into a ready stance. The meterex unit opened fire on him with its rifle, but Alex used his swordsmanship skills to deflect the bullets, all while slowly approaching the unit. Once in striking distance, Alex cut the unit's arm in half, before swinging his blade across its body, putting it down.

With the threat eliminated, the team continued down the hallway, until they reached a point where the hall split into 2 paths.

"Kion, Jasiri," Alex said, "you 2 go right and plant the remaining explosives. I'll head left and find the commander and extract any intel."

The lion and hyena nodded before the team split up to achieve their objectives. Continuing through the base, Alex ran into an elite meterex unit and a heavy meterex unit. The elite unit swiped at Alex with its blades, but Alex managed to defend against the strikes using his sword. The combatants got into a sword lock, and Alex removed one hand from his blade's hilt so he could draw his pistol and fire at the meterex unit. Once the elite unit fell to the ground, Alex barely had time to get out of the way of a strike from the heavy unit. Jumping off the wall, Alex was able to get on top of the elite unit and stab its head with his sword. This, coupled with a few shots from his pistol, defeated the unit, enabling Alex to continue onwards.

Sprinting to cover as much ground as possible, Alex encountered 2 normal meterex on a set of stairs. Both units fell to a few pistol shots and sword slashes as Alex kept going.

Reaching a room with a bunch of computer equipment, Alex spotted 2 more specialist meterex, unaware of his presence. Taking out his rifle, Alex emptied a full magazine into one meterex unit, putting it down. The second unit moved towards Alex, firing its weapons as Alex took cover. When the unit got close to where Alex was hiding, he jumped out and stabbed it in the head with his sword.

After making sure the area was clear, Alex began to check the computers for any intel he could salvage, only to discover that the equipment had been wiped clean of data. There was nothing left, the servers were fried and a few were shot full of holes. However there was one piece of gear still working, a device that kept track of meterex in the base, so their movements and attacks could be better coordinated. Looking over the screen Alex noted that there were not too many meterex in the area where Kion and Jasiri had gone, hopefully, that would mean they set the rest of the charges quickly and easily.

Alex also spotted what appeared to be the signal of a meterex commander, coming from an area not too far away. This commander was the last source of Intel, and Alex raced off to capture this meterex unit.

The next area Alex came to was a large room with catwalks suspended above the floor. Alex came out onto one of these catwalks and was traversing to the other end of the room when a bullet whizzed by him.

Turning to see who had fired at him, Alex spotted 2 sniper meterex. These units had one large eye that they used to find targets at long distances. There was no cover, so Alex drew his sword and got into a stance. One of the snipers fired a high power shot at Alex, who moved his sword to make contact with the bullet. When the bullet struck his sword, it ricocheted off the blade and struck the other meterex sniper, killing it. When the first sniper was distracted by his companion dropping to his own bullet, Alex pulled out his pistol and shot the sniper in the head.

The next room Alex came to was shrouded almost entirely in darkness, but similar to the last room there was a single catwalk running the length of the room. The floor space of the room was totally taken up by electrical equipment, as this was the power plant area of the base.

Alex spotted the meterex commander standing in the middle of the catwalk with his back towards him. The commander was teal in color and looked like a normal meterex unit with a larger body structure. His head design also contained more jagged points, and he had a multitude of armor plates flowing off his back onto the floor, almost like a robe.

"Alex!"

Searching for who called his name, Alex spotted Kion and Jasiri heading towards him from the other end of the catwalk, from the other side of the meterex commander.

"Charges are placed!" Jasiri said.

"Good work" Alex responded, keeping a gun trained on the meterex commander. "We need to capture this guy. All intel was destroyed, we need him to tell us what he knows."

Kion and Jasiri nodded and trained their weapons on the commander, who remained silent and unmoving. Just as Alex was about to open his mouth to say something, the commander spoke.

"I suppose you're here to take me prisoner." the unit's voice was metallic and didn't really contain any noticeable tone.

"Yeah, no duh." Kion said.

The meterex commander laughed and turned toward Alex.

"I know you believe this to be the last pocket of resistance, but no, you are wrong. There is something much more terrible coming."

"What are you talking about?" Alex Asked

"The fact that you are oblivious to your end coming closer and closer."

The meterex commander walked to the side of the catwalk.

"A force that you will be unable to destroy, even though your heart, like the sky..."

The commander looked at the trio of heroes one final time.

"...Will be on fire."

The commander then jumped off the catwalk, landing on some power plant equipment, causing a chain reaction. Sparks flew and the equipment burst into flames.

"Well, looks like we have no intel," Alex said, disappointed "but we'll worry about that later, right now we gotta get out of here!"

"There was a staircase leading up over here," Jasiri said, pointing back towards the way she and Kion had come from. Alex nodded and the team raced off towards the staircase while Alex called Toothdee for rapid extraction.

"Toothdee! We need an immediate evac!"

"Coming your way," Toothdee said, and Alex heard the sounds of an engine start.

The trio reached the staircase and climbed it, finding their way out onto a roof. Alex lit a flare so Toothdee would be able to spot where they were. The compound was catching on fire, as the power plant overloaded and caused chaos.

"Incoming!" Kion yelled.

A meterex force was climbing the staircase they had come from, and they were ready to stop the team. The force consisted of 2 heavy meterex, some sniper meterex, and a couple of normal meterex.

"Jasiri!" Alex said, "detonate the charges!"

"But Alex, we're still in the compound!"

"Leave the details to me."

Jasiri took out the detonator and pressed the button. Large explosions went off nearby, with one blast even destroying some of the meterex forces that were attacking the team. There was only one heavy unit left, and it charged forward towards Alex, who dodged the strike. The unit continued to swing at Alex, who dodged its strikes. Unfortunately for the heavy unit, it was left open to an attack from behind, and Kion stabbed the unit with his sword, killing it. Jasiri took down a normal meterex soldier and then focused her fire on the sniper meterex. Alex also took out his rifle and opened fire, resulting in the last 3 enemies being put down under a hail of bullets.

More meterex entered the area, consisting of an elite meterex, 2 specialist meterex, and a flamethrower meterex. This unit looked like a heavy meterex but was painted red, and as the same suggested, was equipped with a flamethrower.

"Take down that flamethrower now!" Alex yelled, tossing grenades into the group of enemies. The flamethrower unit moved forward and engaged with its flamethrower. Jasiri took down a specialist unit, before needing to dodge the stream of fire from the flamethrower unit.

While Kion dueled the elite unit, Alex ran up to the other specialist unit and his it with his sword, destroying the unit. Alex then fired with his gun at the tank on the flamethrower unit, causing it to explode and destroy the meterex unit.

Just as Kion destroyed the elite unit, the third wave of meterex appeared, consisting of all types of units they had encountered. As the group prepared to battle, suddenly a missile struck the group of enemies, destroying them. The team looked up to see the helicopter before Toothdee hovered nearby so they could get on. Toothdee's timing was perfect, as right after the team had jumped on the chopper and the aircraft pulled away, the building they had been on exploded. The entire compound was burning or destroyed, and most, if not all of the meterex were dead.

"Where's the commander?" Toothdee questioned.

"We didn't get him," Alex said. "And they destroyed all their Intel."

"Damnit, that's not good Alex."

"No, it's not. But don't blame me, they destroyed their intel before I got to that room, and the meterex commander killed himself."

"He was acting strangely as well," Jasiri said. "He said 'there's something coming, your heart and the sky will be on fire' what do you think he meant by that?"

"If we had him we could ask him" Toothdee sighed, although the compound was destroyed, they had lost 2 sources of intel. However, unlike Toothdee, Kion and Jasiri were happy with the way their first mission turned out and shared a victory high five. They had performed exceptionally and were ready for whatever else faced them


	2. Chapter 2: War

The flight back to the typhoon was uneventful and normal, with just some chatter between the team to break the silence. However, Alex did wonder what the meterex commander had been talking about. The commander said he had been in contact with someone, maybe that's what the big satellite dish was for. As they neared the ship Alex looked over the typhoon. It really was a marvel of engineering, equipped with the latest technology and possessing the ability to fly, despite its massive weight. The vessel carried a skeleton crew and was capable of being operated by one person if necessary. When the crew, usually Alex and Toothdee, we're away on missions, the typhoon's automated systems kept it locked down and secure. The ship's structure consisted of a long engine like shaped main section, with smaller sections built off it. These smaller sections were mostly wings or areas that added more rooms to the ship's inside. A large conning tower with the bridge extended upward near the rear of the ship, and near the bow was a landing strip and hanger, with the strip being lined with palm trees to add a bit of nature.

Situated inside the typhoon's hanger and vehicle bays were cars, tanks, speedorz, watercraft, planes, and helicopters. Everything the ship's occupants needed to achieve their objectives. The armory was fully stocked with all sorts of weapons, from swords to even a few prototype railguns, alongside workbenches in case someone felt like creating their own weapons. The typhoon itself was equipped with heavy cannons, machine guns, missile launchers, and everything a normal warship might possess. The interior was also very developed, and modifications had been made to ensure the occupants were comfortable. The whole ship could also be crewed by one person if the situation demanded it.

All these qualities made the ship the perfect headquarters for Heroes, and it would help them to make sure world threats did not go unnoticed and unchecked. Alex was the group's leader, having the rank of captain, despite being rather young. Toothdee was second in command, with both of them acting as the organization's highest authority, though usually, Toothdee was subordinate to Alex.

In the past the team had done jobs for the government, usually doing something like taking out an illegal organization. But they had also gotten themselves into a fair share of situations that they had to fight their way out of by themselves. After the Battle of Zootopia, where the city was freed from meterex occupation, the government had decided to give the team an official name and symbol, more monetary funding, and almost unlimited independence. To Alex and Toothdee the situation had seemed almost to good to be true, but they were glad the team's combat prowess had lead to this. Heroes was a faction that was capable of defeating any threat, and achieving any objective.

The symbol of this strong organization consisted of a yellow curved ribbon, with the word "Heroes" on it I'm black ink. Above that was a white fist, symbolizing strength. The typhoon was covered in this logo, along with the team's weapons, gear, and vehicles, and to many, it was a symbol of hope.

Being so lost in thought, Alex almost didn't notice that the helicopter had landed inside the typhoon. Toothdee went up to the bridge, while the other 3 mammals headed to the armory to get rid of their gear.

"You two did good," Alex said to Kion and Jasiri, unloading his rifle and placing the unused ammo in a case.

"Thank you" Kion replied, with Jasiri adding that it meant a lot to them.

"Don't mention it." Alex said, putting away his sword. "I knew you two would do great."

The trio finished putting away their weapons and gear before Toothdee called them to the bridge via the intercom.

"Alex, Kion, Jasiri, please report to the bridge."

Upon arrival at the bridge, the trio saw Toothdee looking at a computer and sighing.

"You alright?" Alex asked before Toothdee stood up and turned to the group.

"The Chinese fired at a US warship passing through territory they claim is theirs, but it's really international waters. They killed most of the crew and completely destroyed the ship. Congress has voted to declare war in response to further Chinese aggression. As of this moment, the United States of America is at war with the People's Republic of China"

There was heavy silence in the room as everyone thought about what this meant. The worlds 2 most powerful militaries were going up against each other. Alex hoped that this conflict did not permanently scar the world in unrepairable ways.

"Damn," Kion said, while Jasiri shook her head.

"I've been told that Heroes has been given full operational authority to act as it pleases, as long as we're fighting the Chinese." Toothdee said, before sighing.

"Well, there's no use being down about the outbreak of war," Alex said "what happened, happened, and it's our job to deal with the fallout. I'll go tell our analysts to get to work on a preliminary report that could give us an edge early on in this war"

"Tell them they're going to be having their work cut out for them," Toothdee said.

"Will do!"

Alex walked through the hallways of the typhoon, till he came to a room that said "Analysis and Logistics" on the door outside.

Entering the room Alex was greeted by rows of desks with computers, alongside large servers, and stacks upon stacks of paper strewn about the room. A small coffee maker sat on one of the desks and the air was filled with the hum of computers.

"Haida! Retsuko!" Alex said, not sure if the two were in the room or not.

"Coming! Coming!" A female voice said from behind one of the servers nearby.

A female red panda and a male hyena, both hailing from the city of Tokyo Japan came into view and walked up to Alex to speak with him. These 2 managed all of Heroes data and logistics. While the job might not be action-packed, it was no doubt necessary.

"Have you heard the news?" Alex said, quickly getting to the point.

"That we're at war?" The hyena, Haida said. "Unfortunately, yes."

"anyways, I need you to create a preliminary report, updating us on everything we need to know to get an edge on the Chinese in the early stages of this war"

"Already done!" Haida said, retrieving a packet of papers from a nearby printer, before grabbing a stapler.

"Make sure it's stapled at a 45-degree angle!" Retsuko, the red panda said.

"Yeah, I got it."

The hyena stapled the papers together, before handing the packet to Alex.

"Thank you, you two work quick."

"Well, that's why we're here," Retsuko said "And believe me, this job is a lot better than our last one."

"Don't even get me started". Haida said.

"You should have seen our boss's face when we gave him our resignation letters!"

"Ha, well as you were," Alex said, leaving the room, and subsequently hearing the pair inside start flirting from the outside.

Alex looked through the packet, it mentioned known Chinese base locations, a few bits about Chinese troop movements, and detailed info about many other topics relating to the Chinese military. This was certainly going to be one hell of a war, and Heroes was about to be very busy.

—

Well, now that conflict has broken out in the world, things should get interesting. Also, I'm pretty sure that China will ban this post in the country. But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3: Darkness Rises

**Hope everyone had a good Halloween! Now can we please start celebrating Thanksgiving instead of Christmas? I'll leave you with that thought, and give you another heart-pumping chapter!**

The Chinese were wasting no time when it came to their military operations. Heroes had just gotten word of a Chinese base being set up in Chima. But they couldn't understand why they would set up a base in Chima. Sure, Chima was an ally of the United States, but there was no rhyme or reason for the construction of a base in Chima as opposed to an area with more strategic significance. And it had quite literally sprung up overnight, with the structure of the base being constructed within hours, which was extremely remarkable. But no matter the reasons for the construction of this base, what was important was that it existed, and it had to be destroyed.

Luckily Heroes had some contacts in Chima, who were more than willing to help kick the Chinese out. On this operation, Heroes would be joined by Laval, prince of the lion tribe, and Eris, princess of the Eagle tribe.

The typhoon landed in a large clearing, in front of the lion temple, which was the home of the lion tribe. Above the temple rose the floating mount Kavora, from which the life-giving chi waters rained down into the lion temple, and allowed for the creation of chi orbs. Luckily for Heroes, Laval and Eris were already waiting when the typhoon landed and greeted the team as they left the ship.

"It's good to see you again," Alex said, hugging the red-maned lion.

"It's always nice to have you here in Chima." Laval admitted while Alex and Eris shared a hug.

"I don't believe you guys have met," Alex said, looking towards Kion and Jasiri. "Eris, Laval, this is Kion and Jasiri. Jasiri, Kion, this is Laval and Eris."

Jasiri shook hands with Eris, while Kion and Laval did the same, both of them thinking it was nice to know another lion with a bright red mane.

"What have you two been up to lately?" Alex asked.

"The usual" Laval said "we went on a date the other night".

"And it was amazing," Eris said, while Laval blushed slightly.

"Awww, how cute."

"Say, Eris." Kion said "if you don't mind me asking, how are you so big? You're the same size as Laval, but aren't eagles supposed to be a lot smaller than Lions?"

"My ancestors were rather large by eagle standards, you should see the eagle legend beast."

"What the hell is a legend beast?"

"It's a long story."

"But, why do you guys look the way you do? No offense, it's just that your body structure is so much different from Zootopia mammals."

"The legend beasts looked more akin to the way you do, but it's believed that evolving with the use of chi is what gave us this body structure, as opposed to the body structure you have."

"It's not such a big deal," Laval said "I can still do everything you can do, swing a sword, fire a blaster."

"Say, where's Cragger, Worriz, and everyone else?" Alex asked

"Their all guarding their own tribes, making sure they aren't attacked."

"Good thinking, but let's now and go make sure the tribes won't be attacked, by destroying that Chinese base."

The team, consisting of Alex, Toothdee, Kion, Jasiri, Eris, and Laval, raced off towards the location of the base, using speedorz to cover the distance. Speedorz were large, one occupant vehicles that were similar to motorcycles. They consisted of a large wheel from which a frame was built around. This frame had a platform at the back upon which the driver stood and operated the control handles. Speedorz could be equipped with weapons for use in combat and were a key part of vehicles used by Heroes, due to their speed and durability.

The drive through the forest to the base was uneventful, with Alex enjoying the fresh air, while Eris and Laval flirted with each other as the team drove down the trail. Then Alex noticed something up ahead, a concrete barricade, with 2 figures on guard. Figures that were dressed in Chinese military uniforms and equipped with Chinese military weapons.

"Everyone get ready! This is it!" Alex yelled drawing his pistol and pressing a button on his speedor, causing 2 circular saws to pop out on either side of the speedor. Other team members equipped swords, axes, and pistols, and if their speedorz were equipped with weapons, they activated them.

Alex spotted a downed tree and the team used it as a ramp to jump over the barricade, with Alex gunning down one of the Chinese soldiers on guard as he passed them. Toothdee dealt with the other soldier before the team continued racing down the trail, passing by military trucks and hardware. Going by a small group of Chinese soldiers, Alex drove close to one and wounded him with the saw blades on his speedor.

The team reached a small clearing in the forest, filled with military equipment, vehicles, and enemy soldiers. To one side of the clearing was a large dark colored building, that was the base itself. The group of speedorz broke formation and began racing around the clearing, dispatching Chinese soldiers with melee strikes and firearms. Kion cut an enemy soldier down while Jasiri ran over one with her speedor.

"Here! Catch!" Alex yelled to a group of Chinese soldiers while throwing a grenade. The grenade exploded, killing the soldiers and damaging a nearby Jeep.

The number of Chinese soldiers slowly dwindled, and soon they were all lying dead on the ground. Alex stopped his speedor and hopped off, making sure the coast was clear while the rest of the team disembarked.

"Ah, thank you for clearing them out my friend!" A high pitched voice said. Alex turned around to see a raven, Razar, of the Raven tribe.

"They were a pesky bunch, yes?" The raven said, shaking his hooked hand. "Too much for me to deal with."

"Oh, what do you want Razar?" Alex asked.

"I'm here to collect some high-quality items, yes? There must be some valuable weapons inside this base my friend. Thank you again for getting rid of all those guards"

"So you're here just to cash in on this Chinese gear?"

"Precisely my friend, anyway I'll leave you to your fight, yes?"

Without another word, the raven flew up onto the roof of the base and tried searching for a way in.

"Such a character," Alex said "let's hope he doesn't get killed."

Taking out their weapons, the team preceded into the base through the main entrance. They weren't met by any resistance, probably because all the Chinese soldiers in the immediate area had run outside when the group was wreaking havoc with speedorz.

Heading down the hallway, they reached a 3-way junction and Alex instructed Eris and Laval to go left, Kion and Jasiri to go right, while he and Toothdee went straight.

Alex and Toothdee came to a room that appeared to be some sort of meeting area, with tables and chairs set up. 2 Chinese soldiers burst out of cover and opened fire, forcing the 2 heroes to dive for cover. When one soldier stopped firing to reload, Alex got out of cover and shot the other soldier, who was focusing his fire on Toothdee. Having the last soldier outnumbered, the pair slowly approached the cover their enemy was behind, and when he popped up to start firing, they shot him instantly.

At the other end of the room was another set of doors which Alex and Toothdee headed through, ending up in a large storage room. There were wide catwalks above Alex and Toothdee, on the left and right sides of the room, with the catwalks connecting to a balcony at the end opposite them. The room was filled with sounds of gunfire as Laval and Eris fought it out with Chinese soldiers up on the left balcony, and Kion and Jasiri battled with the Chinese up on the right balcony.

"Hey! Look who showed up!" Eris said while Alex and Toothdee got into a firefight with enemy soldiers on the ground floor.

"Finally decided to join the action," Kion said as Alex tossed a grenade.

"Wouldn't miss it!" Alex said as the grenade exploded, killing 2 soldiers.

All 3 pairs of heroes moved forward down the length of the room, taking out Chinese soldiers, but more continued to show up. The crates and equipment stored in the room were riddled with bullet holes and explosive damage, as both sides used grenades and plenty of bullets.

Alex felt pretty good about the progress the 3 teams were making, Chinese soldiers were dropping like flies, Toothdee and himself had already gunned down 7, but more just kept pouring into the room. The number of enemies coming into the room forced all 3 teams in cover, hiding from the severe gunfire. But they still continued to fight, with Kion tossing a grenade, taking out 2 soldiers, while Eris took down another soldier with her blaster. Alex and Toothdee painted the group of enemies in front of them with bullets, dropping 3 soldiers.

"STOP!" a booming voice yelled.

The gunfire stopped and all teams looked to the balcony at the end of the room, where the voice had come from. There was a dark figure, obscured by shadows, holding Razar hostage, with a gun to his head.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS NOW OR I'LL KILL HIM!"

The Chinese soldiers had stopped firing, and instead kept their guns trained on The members of all three teams. Everyone looked at each other, wondering what to do before Alex spoke up.

"Do as he says"

All Heroes in the room raised their hands and threw their weapons to the floor. The shadowy figure ordered Chinese soldiers to led Laval, Eris, Kion, and Jasiri down from the catwalks to join Alex and Toothdee in the center of the room, with their weapons collected and thrown disgracefully to the floor below.

The figure, still obscured by shadows, kicked Razar off the balcony, and he hit the floor with a loud crash before a Chinese soldier ushered him into the group of prisoners.

"Who is it? Is that their leader?" Alex asked.

Razar had a look of shock on his face as he pointed at the figure and spoke. "It's..."

The figure jumped from the balcony and landed on his feet, with everyone finally being able to see his face. The mysterious figure's face looked exactly like Alex's face, except his skin wasn't tan, it darker and grayer, and a long scar cut through his face. While Alex had brown hair and green eyes, this figure had dark black hair and gray colorless eyes.

"This is... new." Alex asked the figure, wondering how this figure looked so much like himself.

"Save your breath," The figure said.

Toothdee got straight to the point and asked this look-alike who he was.

"I'm Alex. But not the one you know" the figure said shrugging "I'm not some sort of imposter, I'm not some sort of clone or person whose mind has been altered so he thinks he's someone he's not."

The figure looked captain Boehm directly in the eyes.

"Simply put, I am you. I'm just another Alex."

"What? How?"

"There is no way in hell you can be Alex." Toothdee asked

"I mean there are billions of people in this world, someone else is probably going to have the name 'Alex Boehm."

"You still misunderstand," the doppelgänger said, shaking his head "you're overthinking it. Think of your friend here, but with a different set of goals in mind, a different set of ideas, that's who I am."

"So... some sort of counterpart or something?"

"I guess you could call it that. It might be easier to think of it that way. We're almost exactly alike."

Toothdee was still trying to wrap her head around this "How the... how is this possible?"

"It doesn't matter how it's possible." Alex interjected, "What matters is that it's happening."

"If you have any lingering doubts about my identity, then so be it. I didn't expect you to believe me, ignorant fools" the other, gray-skinned Alex said. "Oh, and let me introduce you to some other friends."

More figures emerged from the balcony and jumped down into the light, revealing themselves to be Kion, Eris, and other members of Heroes, but just like Alex's doppelgänger they were almost dark and corrupted, their fur drained of color and icy stares across their faces. Toothdee recognized every dark face she saw, even one that resembled herself. The resemblance was uncanny, short fur, 2 large protruding teeth, a pair of big eyes, a long tail with protrusions, and a similar body structure. The only thing that was different was that this while Toothdee's normal fur color was light blue, this mysterious Toothdee had light gray fur.

But there was one face Toothdee couldn't pin down, it belonged to a young female Zootopian wolf, who was dressed in a jet black dress, and whose hair was an extremely deep navy blue while her fur was the color of ash.

"This has to be a trick," Kion said, looking his dark counterpart in the face. "This can't be real."

"Oh but it is! As he said, we are you, only with a different set of objectives in mind." the darkened version of Kion said

"Such as?"

"Tell me, do you care about people's well being?" Alex's counterpart asked "care clouds judgment. Your experiences in life are what have shaped the ideas and values in your head. The same is true for us, only our values are different. And it would appear that they directly clash with yours in every way."

"Oh great, evil counterparts," Laval said "and I thought I'd seen everything."

"You might think of us as wrong, but as I said, we have cultivated our beliefs over long experience. If our views don't go together then that's just the way the universe works. I will admit that we do want to prove that we are superior to you. And what better way to do that than by killing you. Luckily, this will also remove the US's greatest fighting force."

"But why are you working with the Chinese?"

"Let's just say the Chinese were more than willing to accept the help of powerful warriors who would bring them to victory. They even gave us ranking roles."

A radio call interrupted the dark and version of Alex, and he paused to give orders.

"Now that this base's position has been compromised, I think it's best if we leave, our enemies might send additional forces here," Dark Alex said, ushering the other dark counterparts and most of the Chinese soldiers to leave the room. "I'll take care of them, they won't be bothering us anymore"

Now it was just Dark Alex and 2 Chinese soldiers left, with Dark Alex distracted by his ongoing radio call. Recognizing this was his chance, Alex quickly pulled out his knife and slashed his dark counterpart across the back of his hand and kicked him in the stomach, before sliding the bloody knife back into its holster. A DNA test might confirm if this guy really was who he said.

As Dark Alex recovered from being kicked, Laval and Jasiri attacked the 2 Chinese soldiers, forcing them down, while Toothdee threw a smoke grenade.

"Run!" Alex yelled as the group quickly collected their weapons and sprinted at full speed back down the hallway they entered from, reaching the outside of the base in less than a minute. Hopping onto their speedorz, everyone raced off at breakneck speed, with Razar joining Alex on his speedor as they fled.

As the smoke cleared, Dark Alex looked down the hallway his enemies fled through, they may have escaped, but this was just the beginning of their war.

000

What transpired at the base had left Heroes with more questions than answers, but at least the base was now abandoned, as a look at it via remote drone revealed there was no longer a presence of Chinese forces. The most perplexing conundrum was who these dark counterparts were, what they wanted, and where they came from.

Alex tested the DNA from his knife and compared it to his own DNA on file. Revealing it to be a match. There was still much debate over that the team should do to proceed, and they had gathered on the bridge for a discussion about their next step.

"Why would the Chinese come to Chima first?" Laval asked "it doesn't make sense."

"Maybe our counterparts wanted to hit us here, somewhere important to us, to deal a devastating blow," Alex said.

"But who are these people? Are they really just versions of us who instead of looking out for others, want to look out for themselves?" Eris asked.

"I guess? But they are definitely hostile to us. Our way of looking at things is different, and now they want to kill us."

"And they want to prove that their view on life is stronger."

"Evil doppelgängers sounds like something out of a comic book." Kion said

"Who was that gray wolf?" Toothdee asked "She was standing next to you Alex, or rather that dark version of you. I don't know of any Zootopian wolves that are a friend of us."

"Well I do know one."

"What?"

"You heard me, set course for Zootopia."

 **Well, now you know where the title of this story comes from! I was a big fan of the sonic the hedgehog comics as a kid, and a major theme in those comics is that you have a hero character, and then you have an evil and dark version of that character. So that's where I got the idea of evil counterparts. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this revealing chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4: Old & New Friends

**Before we get into the story I want to say one thing: I would like to dedicate this chapter to Stan Lee, the father of Marvel comics. Thank you for making us all true believers, and for touching so many people with your work. You will forever live on in our hearts.**

After arriving in Zootopia, the typhoon landed in a large, designated landing zone within the city. Alex, Toothdee, Kion, and Jasiri were going to be getting in a car, and Alex would take them to a location of significance regarding the wolf everyone was confused about. Right now Alex was waiting outside, getting some fresh air, while his companions were using the bathroom or doing other things before leaving.

As Alex waited, he spotted a figure, a snow leopard, walking up to him.

"Excuse me, Alex Boehm?" The snow leopard asked.

"Yeah, who's asking?" Alex responded, noticing that the snow leopard seems oddly familiar to him.

"I'm Fabienne Growley, from Zootopia News Network."

"Oh yeah! Now I remember you!"

"Anyway ZNN wants frontline coverage of this war with China, and I was assigned to be stationed on a US warship to report on its operations, and I was hoping that ship could be the typhoon"

"Really? Hmm..." Alex looked back towards the ship "I mean I hope you know that we aren't going to be in the background doing a support role. The typhoon is a purpose-built warship, it's gonna be right in the thick of the action."

"I understand the dangers, that's why ZNN sent me, due to my experience. I've reported on wars and conflict before and been in dangerous situations. Besides, your warship is probably the safest place in this entire war."

"Well, then I think we have an open bunk you can use. Frankly, I must say it's an honor that you chose the typhoon."

"Well, I'm honored that you said yes. Thank you so much." Fabienne said, shaking Alex's hand.

"You won't find a safer or more interesting warship to be stationed on, so good choice. Now if you have any equipment or personal effects you need to gather up, I suggest getting them and moving in."

"Of course, thanks again." the snow leopard started walking away, presumably heading back to her car so she could drive home and gather up things like reporting equipment and clothes.

"Who was that?" Toothdee said as her, Kion and Jasiri joined Alex.

"Fabienne Growley, from ZNN. She wats to be stationed on the typhoon so she can report on this war."

"Really?" Jasiri asked "That's amazing."

"Get ready to see yourselves on the news a lot" Alex laughed "Now then, let's get going."

"I still don't know where the heck you're taking us," Kion said with a quizzical look. "Or what this has to do with the gray wolf we encountered."

"You'll see, just be patient."

The team got into a bright red and sporty looking car before Alex began driving them to an unspecified location. No one asked any questions, trusting Alex knew what he was doing, but they didn't exactly like being in the dark.

Soon the car pulled up outside a building with a large pink neon sign that said "Howlers Moon"

The group got out and Alex walked right up to an old man who was standing near the door. The doorman had a neatly combed head of hair, along with a name tag sporting the initials 'S. L.'. He scanned over at the group through his tinted aviator sunglasses, before waving them into the building. It was loud inside, with music blaring and bright lights flashing. Mammals of all sizes were drinking and chatting with others.

"And the reason you've brought us to a Zootopian club is...?" Toothdee asked, not understanding the significance of this endeavor.

"You'll see." Alex responded, gesturing for the group to follow him to the dance floor.

Alex scanned the crowd of mammals on the dance floor before his eyes lit up as he spotted what, or rather who he was looking for. The group drew closer to their target, who was a female wolf in her early 20s, with long flowing hair that was dyed a light pink, along with her fur that was dyed blue. She was dressed in a bright red dress that appeared to be ripped at the bottom as part of a stylistic choice. She moved at a rapid speed around the dance floor, all while singing along to the music.

"There's the wolf I know!" Alex said cheerfully.

The blue wolf's tail shot up straight in surprise before she turned around and saw who had called to her.

"ALEX!" The blue wolf yelled, jumping into Alex's arms.

Alex picked her up and spun her in a circle while the pair laughed, before setting her down and turning towards Toothdee, Kion, and Jasiri.

"Guys, this is Jay Burdell, but you can call her JayJay. Jay, this is Toothdee, Kion, and Jasiri." Alex said, pointing out the individuals as he spoke their names.

"Nice to meet you." JayJay said, shaking Toothdee's hand, before doing the same with Kion and Jasiri.

"Nice to meet you too," Toothdee said, before looking at Alex and asking something. "How long have you known her?"

"Eh, A while." Alex responded, while JayJay complemented Jasiri on something she did with her hair.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Alex shrugged "there was no reason to. And no one ever asked."

In Toothdee's mind that wasn't really the best reason for not telling anyone about a new friend, but at least the secret had eventually made its way out.

"Now, onto important business..." Alex said, gesturing for the group to follow him outside so they could talk about sensitive matters.

000

"Dark counterparts?" JayJay said in total disbelief after seeing the footage captured from Chima, as well as some explanation from those who were there when the footage was recorded.

"That's what they said they were, and we have no real reason to suspect otherwise." Alex said.

"Wha... I don't... how is this possible?!"

"You know as much as we do. We're totally in the dark, we have no clue who they are, where they come from, or how they are tied to China."

JayJay looked at the footage again, paying particular attention to the gray wolf, which was her dark counterpart.

"Darn," The wolf said, pointing to her counterpart, "I think she wears the color gray better than me."

"Well technically that person is you, so it would be impossible for her to wear that color better than you." Toothdee explained.

"Yeah, but it might go better with her personality. If what you say is true, they have more of a 'darker side' than I do. As such the color gray goes better with them because their personality is more sinister than mine. Also, I don't really wear gray that much."

"Ok, enough about fashion," Alex said, "what matters is that whoever or whatever these people, they still have to be stopped."

There were murmurs and nods of agreement from the rest of the group.

"Then it looks like I'm joining you." JayJay said, handing Alex back his phone, which had the footage on it.

"Joining us?" Toothdee questioned.

"Yeah, she has a dark counterpart as well, so I think she has as much stake in this as we do." Alex said, coming to Jay's defense.

"Eh, that's fair," Toothdee said.

"And don't worry," Jay said with a slick smile "I can handle myself."

000

While the team, now including JayJay, were heading back to the typhoon, Alex got a call from Eris.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alex where are you?"

"We're just a few minutes away from the typhoon, why do you ask?"

"Because this black car pulled up, and a striped bunny and an arctic fox got out, and they're saying they're from the Zootopia Intelligence Agency. Laval is currently outside talking with them."

"Ok, well just hold on, we'll be there momentarily"

A few minutes later the group pulled into the designated landing zone and spotted the strange characters Eris had described. The rabbit was dressed in a formal suit, and the fox a formal suit with a skirt, and both of them spotted sunglasses.

"Can I help you?" Alex asked.

The striped rabbit took off his sunglasses and flashed a badge that said ZIA on it before speaking. "I'm Jack Savage, this is Skye Winter, we're from the Zootopia Intelligence Agency."

"Oh yeah," Toothdee said "I forgot Zootopia had an intelligence agency, it's like a city-state."

"Anyway..." Jack began "...the ZIA wants to make sure Zootopia stays safe during this war. They want us to join you on your ship, to help you fight the Chinese, and make sure Zootopia stays safe. We will act as an arm of the ZIA working with you."

"Ok..." Alex thought over this for a moment, before a familiar looking car pulled up.

"Give me a sec." Alex said, walking over to the car as a gray rabbit in a pink shirt and jeans got out of the driver's side door, and a red fox in a green Hawaiian shirt exited the passenger side door.

"Nick! Judy! What are you guys doing here?"

Alex bent down so he could hug the pair.

"Well..." Judy said, Toothdee texted us and said you were here in the city, and what's been going on with you guys lately. I'll be straight with you Alex, we want to help."

"Help?"

"Yes, we fought alongside you against the meterex, we want to fight alongside you again, only this time against the Chinese. Sometimes protecting Zootopia means doing more than patrolling the streets."

"Don't you 2 have to go into work though?"

"We have a lot of vacation days saved up, and we were hoping you could put it in a good word with Bogo that we're doing our part to make the world a better place."

"Well, you know I'm never one to refuse help. If you want to join us again, then move back into your rooms on the typhoon. I'll put in a word with Bogo."

"Should me and Skye also find a room to bunk in?" Jack asked.

"Jack? Skye?" Nick said, just now noticing the 2 mammals.

"You know each other?" Alex said.

"Yeah, we're great friends!" Judy said as she embraced Skye "Nick, you've known Jack since you two were kits, right?"

"Correct." Nick said as he exchanged a friendly greeting with Jack.

"Why does everyone have some sort of secret friends?" Toothdee said.

"Well, Jack and Skye want to be stationed on the typhoon, acting as an arm of the ZIA to make sure Zootopia is safe during the war." Alex said.

"You should definitely invite them on board. You won't find mammals more determined and experienced than Jack and Skye." Judy said, making Skye smile as her friend praised her.

"Well then, Jack, Skye. Judy has put in a good word for you, so gather up your belongings and move into some rooms. I'll give you a tour of the ship later so you know where everything is."

"We only need one room," Jack said "but thank you for bringing us onboard."

The 2 fox and bunny pairs began to remove suitcases from their cars, presumably filled with items they'd need for their stay on the typhoon. Fabienne Growly also pulled up in her car with a suitcase and camera equipment and began to move onto the ship.

"Look at all these great people," Alex said to Toothdee "Seeing all these faces, all these mammals that are going to be working together, I don't think the Chinese stand a chance."

 **I would like to thank Vivziepop for giving me permission to use her character JayJay. I hope everyone liked the addition of so many new characters to this story! In the next chapter, things heat up again as the team enters another battlefield! See all of you next week! Excelsior!**


	5. Chapter 5: Guam

**Hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving! I'm on break right now, and its actually my birthday today! It would be a great gift if you guys read and enjoyed the story today! But, on this day, I hope I can give you guys the gift of another great chapter! let us get started!**

Chinese forces had amassed near the US territory of Guam, and they were making their assault. Alex and Toothdee didn't like how the Chinese were attacking Guam as one of their first major strikes. This attack, coupled with their incursion into Chima, made the two think that the Chinese were trying to employ a tactic that involved attacking important points at random intervals, with no set main front of Chinese forces pushing across the globe. If this was true, it would make Chinese forces especially hard to track and effectively fight. But, the main focus now was fending off the attack on Guam, and right now the typhoon was landing at a town in Guam, while explosions and gunfire sounded off nearby. Chinese and US fighter jets fought it out in the skies above as plumes of smoke rose high into the sky from destroyed vehicles.

"Away team!" Retsuko said via radio as Alex and Toothdee were gearing up in the armory "a large portion of the infrastructure on the island has been destroyed, the military base on the island has almost been wiped off the map, and there's a Chinese fleet offshore, consisting of 1 aircraft carrier and escort vessels. Our forces are about evenly matched against the Chinese forces, but we've got our backs against the wall. The civilians are almost fully evacuated, but US forces are suffering heavy losses in the evacuation process, and need your help!"

"Affirmative!" Alex said, as him and Toothdee exited the typhoon, filling their role of being the first forces in and last forces out. A US soldier was already waiting to guide Toothdee and Alex to the evacuation site.

"Captain," the soldier said to Alex "we're not doing to well here, we can't keep track of all the Chinese forces, we believe some may have gotten around our defensive lines and-"

Suddenly the soldier was cut off and fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his head.

"FIND COVER!" Alex yelled as shots from a group of Chinese soldiers hit the ground nearby. Alex and Toothdee hid behind part of a destroyed wall, as bullets continued to fly by. Then the pair spotted a figure emerging from the typhoon. It was JayJay, still sporting her trademark red dress, but now she also had a gear belt around her waist, along with a bulletproof vest that was dyed red to match her dress.

"JayJay?!" Toothdee yelled, "what are you doing here?!"

"I told you," JayJay said "I can handle myself. I'm a warrior!"

The wolf reached for her hip and pulled out an iconic 1911 pistol that was decorated with bright colors of blue, yellow, and plenty of pink. JayJay fired out a volley of shots, downing 3 Chinese soldiers, before charging forward, putting away her 1911 and drawing a Škorpion machine pistol, which she used to strike down 3 more Chinese soldiers. Alex and Toothdee watched as the wolf took down Chinese soldiers, switching between her weapons and reloading when she had too.

"Hey, you shouldn't have doubted her." Alex said to Toothdee as he ran out from behind cover to join JayJay in the battle. The pair stood back to back and gunned down enemy soldiers that entered their lines of fire, while Toothdee took care of a couple of Chinese soldiers getting a little to close to the typhoon.

Another squad of soldiers snuck into the 2nd floor of a destroyed building and opened fire on Alex and JayJay, forcing them to take cover. Noticing the structural instability of the building, the captain tossed a grenade into the first floor. The grenade detonated, bringing the entire building down and killing the Chinese soldiers. The area was now clear of hostiles, and US forces were arriving the secure the area.

"Not too shabby." Alex said, patting Jay on the shoulder.

"Thank you." the wolf beamed.

The rest of the typhoon's crew exited the ship, all kitted out and ready for combat, dressed with armor and carrying weapons that they definitely knew how to use.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Just a couple of Chinese soldiers, they've been dealt with," Alex said. "Jack, Judy, Nick, Skye, Eris, and Laval, you 6 stay here and keep the typhoon safe, it's automated defenses are strong, but it wouldn't hurt to have guards. Kion, Jasiri, you're with Me, Toothdee and JayJay"

"You're going in for a ground assault?" Jack said. "A captain's place is on the bridge."

"Not this captain." Alex said

"Sir!" A soldier interjected "Our forces guarding the evacuation site are about to be overrun! They're just a little ways in that direction."

The soldier pointed down a damaged road.

"Thank you soldier, let's go!"

The team sprinted down the roadway, needing to get to the evacuation site as quickly as possible. They passed by destroyed buildings and a few armored vehicles that were now engulfed in flames.

"WATCH OUT!" JayJay yelled as a US fighter jet crashed into the street in front of the team, skidding into a building nearby.

"We gotta get those civilians out of here fast!" Alex said, the team continuing its race to the evacuation site.

000

The evacuation site was complete chaos when the group arrived, with US and Chinese soldiers fighting it out. Within 30 seconds of arriving on scene, the team had already gunned down 2 enemy soldiers and proceeded to move across the evacuation zone in a swift line formation, acting like a wave sweeping away Chinese soldiers. Quickly the Chinese forces had been mopped up, and Alex ordered everyone to fan out across a 'line of defense', not letting any Chinese soldiers pass. 3 helicopters were still on site, with civilians being rushed on board.

After the Chinese forces in the area had been dealt with by either Heroes or US soldiers, one of the helicopters took off and flew towards a US aircraft carrier offshore.

"Here comes more of them!" Alex yelled, spotting hostiles approaching "let's show them what we're made of!"

A force of about a dozen Chinese soldiers entered the area, with friendly forces opening fire as soon as they got a visual. Alex used a grenade to drive a few soldiers out of cover, before gunning them down with his rifle.

As another group of soldiers took cover in a destroyed building, Kion hid behind a pile of rubble and used it to sneak around the Chinese soldiers and get inside the building, before cutting the hostiles down with his sword.

Toothdee, JayJay, and Jasiri all lined up shots and opened fire, downing any Chinese soldier that exited cover, all the while US forces continued to fight alongside them.

The second wave had been destroyed, with the bodies of hostile soldiers littering the area, and the second helicopter taking off towards the aircraft carrier.

Suddenly more Chinese soldiers showed up, as well as a small buggy and troopers armed with rocket launchers.

The gunner on the back of the buggy killed 2 US soldiers, before JayJay dispatched him with ease, due to a lack of protection around the turret.

"Take out those rocket troopers! They'll destroy the helicopter!" Jasiri yelled while shooting down a hostile trooper aiming his rocket launcher.

Noticing a few rocket troopers taking cover under part of an overpass, Jasiri fired at one of the troopers, causing him to fall backward while pulling the trigger on his launcher. The rocket hit the overpass above, causing it to collapse and killing the enemies beneath it.

Toothdee killed the last rocket trooper while a friendly soldier hopped on the buggy turret and mopped up the last few enemies.

As the last helicopter left, friendly forces, including Heroes, started cheering as they watched the chopper fly towards the aircraft carrier. Suddenly a missile struck the helicopter, causing it to crash into the sea, inciting gasps and yells from the assembled soldiers. A volley of cruise missiles then struck the aircraft carrier, and it began to capsize. Everyone watched in horror as civilians tumbled off the capsizing vessel into the water below, and screams filled the air.

There was utter silence as the ship continued to disappear beneath the waves. Minds raced as they watched all those lives, obliterated in seconds. It was hard to watch, but there were still Chinese forces all over the island, and they were still itching to do damage.

"Come on" Alex sighed, taking a deep breath "We still have a job to do. We can morn later."

"All those people..." Kion said while Jasiri patted him on the shoulder.

"Look I know it hurts to watch. But we have to get through this and push on, or else more people will die."

Toothdee thought it seemed heartless, but what he said was true, and the team needed to keep going.

JayJay continued to look out towards the sea, almost in a trance, before the captain brought her back to reality.

"Hey, we'll get through this, ok?"

The wolf shook her head and cleared her emotional state before responding with "Ok." and a newfound sense of determination spreading across her face.

Heroes separated from the US soldiers and headed down a destroyed Main Street before Haida called in over the radio.

"Guys, there's friendly aircraft incoming," the hyena said "their planning to attempt one major strike on the island that will put the Chinese on the defensive."

"Acknowledged." Toothdee said.

The team heard the sound of an engine and spotted a Chinese tank coming onto the road up ahead.

"Move!" Kion yelled, running into a building.

The vehicle fired its main cannon, reducing a nearby structure to rubble.

"We need to take this thing down!" Alex yelled, moving behind cover as the tank fired its machine gun at him.

"Are you crazy?" JayJay said, "we don't have any rockets or explosives!"

"See if you can find some, there's got to be US military gear all over this island."

While Alex headed up into the second floor of a building, Toothdee and Jasiri opened fire in the tank, but their bullets did no damage, forcing them to fall back as the tank returned fire.

Alex was above the tank now and had found what he was looking for, some C4 charges, left by US forces fleeing the area. Calling out that he had discovered explosives, Alex picked up as many as he could carry, and ran to a hole in the wall where he had a great view of the tank.

"Lure it below Alex!" Kion yelled, seeing what the captain was attempting.

Kion and Jasiri ran to the end of the street and opened fire on the armored vehicle. The tank moved towards them and readied its main cannon.

Alex jumped on top of the tank and kicked the remote-controlled mounted LMG a few times, breaking the weapon and rendering it useless. Alex then attached C4 to the commander's viewfinder, and the gunner's viewfinder, before jumping off the tank and running into a building where JayJay was currently hiding.

"Cover your ears." Alex said, to which the wolf obliged, and Alex clicked the detonator.

The tank was enveloped in an explosion, but once the fire and smoke cleared, the tank continued to operate. It's optic sensors were destroyed, meaning the crew couldn't see, but they were still able to fire and move. The tank was now moving and firing wildly, with bullets spraying the area. As the tank's main cannon aimed at the building Alex and JayJay were in, the pair ran out and took cover in a collapsed part of the street as the building was destroyed.

Suddenly the ground shook, and dust fell from nearby structures.

"What was that?" Kion asked.

"Must have been those airstrikes Haida mentioned." Alex said, before getting down as the tank backed up. Alex took this moment to plant another C4 charge in its treads once the vehicle stopped. A few seconds later, the tank moved down the street, and Boehm pressed the detonator again.

Another explosion enveloped the tank, and its left track was destroyed. The vehicle no longer moved or fired, meaning the crew was either dead or about to exit the tank due to a loss of movement and visuals.

"Watch out for the crew!" Toothdee yelled as Alex hopped up on the tank. The main hatch opened and a Chinese soldier started crawling out before Alex shot him. Jasiri jumped on top of the tank and dropped a grenade down the hatch before the 2 jumped off and the tank exploded.

"Scratch one Chinese tank." Jasiri said, as the heroes grouped up and continued up the road. Passing over a small ridge of rubble, the team linked up with a group of US soldiers and armored vehicles, that were moving up the road.

Retsuko's voice came in over the radio. "Guys, friendly aircraft have succeeded in backing the Chinese into a corner, and your heading right for them."

"If we take them out then the island is free." Kion said.

"No, there's still the fleet to deal with," Alex said, "Toothdee, is the remote piloting feature for the typhoon up and running?"

"Yep, why? You want me to bring the ship in for a landing here so we can climb aboard and go deal with the fleet?"

"You just read my mind."

While Toothdee used a screen on her gauntlet to call in the typhoon, the US forces engaged the remaining Chinese forces, who were grouped up and ready to go down fighting. A rocket trooper destroyed a friendly armored vehicle, while the team pushed forward, gunning down Chinese soldiers as they went.

Alex cut 2 soldiers down to size with his sword, before deflecting incoming bullets straight into another soldier, then preceding to shoot 1 more hostile with his sword's chi blaster. Kion and Jasiri performed a maneuver that involved the lion throwing Jasiri into the air, so she could get some shots from above on hostiles.

Despite downing many enemy soldiers, there was still a hail of bullets going by Alex, forcing him to take cover. Then the captain spotted something, JayJay was hiding near the group of Chinese soldiers currently pinning him down. Alex gave a nod to JayJay, and the wolf nodded back, before closing her eyes for a few seconds. An angry scowl crossed her face and she leaped at the enemy soldiers.

The wolf kicked and punched with unyielding ferocity, beating the Chinese soldiers into submission with her attacks, and dodging any retaliatory attack the Chinese made. The hostiles tried to combat the wolf, but her assaults and rage were too much for them to handle.

"Typhoon is coming in, should be here any second" Toothdee said, going over to Alex, before noticing JayJay battling enemy soldiers.

"Where did you find this girl?" Toothdee asked Alex while gunning down an enemy soldier. "What's she so angry about?"

"Eh, let's just say there are some... issues with her past. But personally, I think this is a good way to work out any stresses she has. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I'd call it a progressive form of anger management."

The wolf finished off the last enemy soldier by hitting him with his own weapon, before taking a deep breath, and her friendly, fun-loving attitude came back.

Alex gave her a thumbs up, and JayJay gave a thumbs up of her own.

"Typhoon's here!" Jasiri yelled.

Alex and Toothdee looked up to see the vessel hovering overhead, with Skye and Jack standing in one of the ship's exit doors and firing their assault rifles at the remaining Chinese soldiers, downing many in quick succession.

The remaining enemies realized the battle was lost and dropped their weapons before putting their hands up in surrender.

Skye and Jack threw a rope ladder down, enabling the team on the ground to climb up back into the ship.

"Nice to see you two know how to use those things." Alex said, climbing up to Jack and Skye.

"We can do a lot more than fire weapons." The rabbit said as Alex reached the ship.

Once everyone was onboard, the rope ladder was pulled back into the ship, and everyone raced up to the bridge.

"Toothdee," Alex said, hopping into the captain's chair "give me a systems report."

"Weapon systems coming online," Toothdee said "hull strength is at 100% and ready to withstand any assaults."

Not everyone on the ship was currently on the bridge, so Alex pressed a button on his console, activating the ship's intercom system.

"Attention all crew, man your battle stations! Repeat: man your battle stations!"

Alarms blared and armored panels came up to cover the ship's bridge window. The room was darkened for a second before an advanced video feed covering the entire main window came online. This video feed made the window look like how it would normally look, if the armor panels weren't there, enabling for a good visual view of the battlefield.

Using the controls, Alex lifted the typhoon a little ways above the waterline and guided the ship towards the Chinese fleet, which was already being engaged by US vessels.

"Here come their air defenses." Toothdee said as a squadron of Chinese jets blasted the typhoon with missiles and bullets. Alex activated the ship's air defense cannons, downing 2 hostile jets under a hail of shots. As the jets came around for another pass the typhoon's cannons downed a third hostile jet, with the plane crashing onto the typhoon's deck before skidding off the ship into the sea below. The remaining hostile aircraft were chased off by friendly jets as the typhoon moved closer towards the enemy fleet.

"Ready starboard cannons!" Alex said as the typhoon neared an enemy escort vessel. "FIRE!"

Shots from the typhoon ripped the escort vessel to ribbons, as its deck buckled and exploded. The typhoon engaged another vessel, one that was already firing back with its rockets and cannons.

"Damage report!" Alex said as the typhoon shook while the 2 vessels battled it out.

"No hull breaches!" Toothdee reported.

Boehm maneuvered the typhoon to a better firing position and engaged the enemy vessel once again. The Chinese warship was flaming and smoke billowed from its hull. With one more volley of shots, a massive hole opened I the vessel's side, and it started to capsize.

The typhoon moved to engage two more hostile vessels, these ones already damaged by US ships. Using the computer targeting system, Alex directed the cannons to fire on the ship's bridge, creating an explosion that rendered the Chinese vessel inoperable. The typhoon then fired a barrage of missiles, bombarding the second damaged warship and reducing it to scrap metal.

3 Chinese patrol boats swarmed the typhoon, with one even managing to pass under the ship due to the typhoon hovering above the water. However, the ship's machine guns and a few shots from its cannons destroyed 2 boats and forced the last one to retreat.

"Alex that aircraft carrier is still launching planes, it's a major threat," Toothdee said, noticing a squad of Chinese fighters taking off.

"Ready the main cannon!" the captain said, pulling the typhoon away from the carrier before pointing its bow towards the enemy vessel.

The typhoon's runway bent and opened up, the ship's massive central cannon showing itself, pointed right at the Chinese aircraft carrier.

"Target locked!" Toothdee said, checking a computer screen.

Alex pressed a glowing red button and the typhoon shook as the cannon fired a massive blast, cutting right through the Chinese aircraft carrier, and splitting it in two. A series of explosions ripped through the Chinese carrier before the 2 halves of the vessel began to sink.

Cheers erupted on the typhoon's bridge as everyone watched the ship sink. JayJay patted Alex on the back while Jack gave him a high five and complimented him on his skills as a pilot.

"Alex! Toothdee! Everyone!" Retsuko's voice said via the intercom.

"Its Skye, go right ahead."

"We just got a report of another Chinese fleet heading towards us. It's being lead by a new kind of warship, something that we've never seen before."

Everyone stopped celebrating, the battle was not over yet, and there was some kind of special prototype warship nearing Guam.

"Do we have any information on this new warship?" Jasiri asked

"The report says it looks exactly like our ship, the typhoon. Except it's painted completely black."

 **So, did you guys enjoy seeing the typhoon and our new characters in action? Be sure to review, and I'll see you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6: Second Assault

**Sorry it took a while to get this chapter out, I've been focusing on college stuff recently. But, I won't keep you waiting any longer, here's the chapter.**

More US warships and aircraft had arrived near the island of Guam, and they were ready to meet the new Chinese fleet in battle. Alex had the typhoon land and be prepared to take off. It would act as an emergency escape ship in the event friendly forces were overrun. All members of Heroes had been spread out over the island, ready to counter any assault, while US soldiers guarded the typhoon.

Alex, Toothdee, Jack, Skye, and JayJay were currently digging into a defensible position near the beach, ready to counter the Chinese Assault. Sandbags and concrete blocks protected the small dirt trench they were in, looking over the beach. Machine guns and other soldiers were all ready to hold the line.

"I can't stop thinking about those poor people," JayJay said, while she and Alex placed sandbags in a wall. "On the aircraft carrier, all of them just wiped out."

"I know, this is why we're heroes, we want to protect people. But it can really break your spirit when you work so hard to protect the innocent, yet fail."

"How are we supposed to deal with it?"

The captain placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes so his words would have more of an effect.

"We keep going. We can't stop because of one loss. If we stopped every time we failed, we would get nowhere fast. You like helping the oppressed right?"

"Of course!"

"There's always going to be more people to help. If you failed once, that doesn't mean you'll fail again. Keep striving forward towards your goal of helping the oppressed. And we all have each other to lean on for support."

The wolf let the words sink in. It didn't fully heal the pain, but she felt a little bit better.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

000

Sometime later all the defenses were ready, and the soldiers were in battle positions. The Chinese fleet had arrived offshore, being lead by the unknown warship.

"There they are," Toothdee said, using binoculars to look at the fleet of enemy ships offshore. "And there's that strange ship."

The weird lead ship did indeed look like the typhoon, except it was bigger, possessed more weapons, and as Retsuko had mentioned earlier, it was all jet black in color, while the normal typhoon was mostly light gray and blue in color.

"What's the deal with that ship?" JayJay asked, while Alex examined the vessel, which even flew exactly like the typhoon, hovering a bit above the waterline.

"I'm willing to bet money it belongs to our dark counterparts." Alex said, giving the binoculars to JayJay so she could look closer at the mysterious dark ship.

"Well, time to see how it fairs in battle," Toothdee said, pointing to approaching US warships.

"You ready for this?" Alex said, to JayJay, knowing the battle was about to start.

"Yes, let's do this!" the wolf said, fist bumping Alex.

Cannon blasts rang out as the warships began to fire upon each other. The Black typhoon revealed its main gun and promptly fired upon a US destroyer, immediately rendering the vessel useless. The main Chinese and United States fleets then engaged in battle, while Chinese landing craft and helicopters raced towards the shoreline.

"Everyone ready! Here they come!" Jack yelled, getting in a ready position. Anti-aircraft fire destroyed some of the helicopters, but many still reached shore and began wreaking havoc. Meanwhile, the boats landed on the sandy beaches and Chinese soldiers jumped out and started their assault.

The friendly forces on the shore opened fire, downing many Chinese soldiers, but they could not take them all down, and soon the positions where Heroes and US soldiers had dug in were already being overrun.

"Watch it! Grenade!" Toothdee yelled as a metal object landed nearby.

"I've got your back!" Alex said picking the grenade up throwing it back towards the Chinese soldiers, where it detonated.

The captain stopped using his rifle to fire at enemies on the beach and switched to his sword so he could cut down Chinese soldiers nearby.

"There's just too many of them." Skye yelled as she reloaded while taking a quick glance at the sea battle "and our ships aren't doing too well."

US ships were falling quickly, being pounded by the dark typhoon and the rest of the enemy fleet. In fact, one warship had already been destroyed and was crashing against the beach, actually taking out a few of the Chinese landing craft.

Despite how quickly the beach had been overrun, Alex and his team felt pretty good, they were taking down many Chinese soldiers and it looked like they might hold the trenches. Then suddenly Alex felt someone hit him in the back and kick him to the ground. Turning around, Alex saw his dark counterpart standing there, ready to do battle.

"That's for stabbing me in Chima," Dark Alex said. "Time to see how skilled you really are."

2 more dark figures appeared, the dark versions of Kion and Jasiri, both dressed in armor that seemed to be heavily battle damaged from previous fights, but still extremely strong.

"Break their lines, and deal with any of his friends." the Dark character said to his subordinates while gesturing to Alex.

"With pleasure." The dark version of Jasiri said while taking out her sword. Her weapon was 2 thin blades extending from either end of the handle, with a metal ring also going around the handle, giving the whole weapon the appearance of a long thin line with a metal ring in the center. The hyena pressed a button on the handle and the 2 blades started spinning around the ring, acting as a giant deadly saw that Dark Jasiri promptly used to cut down hostile soldiers.

Dark Kion also preceded to take on US soldiers, but his weapon didn't look too different from the normal Kion's weapon, apart from being darker and with more battle scars.

"Come on." Dark Alex taunted, taking out his weapon, which was a Chima style sword with a chi energy chainsaw embedded inside. Now any part of the sword that would be a normal blade was now also a cutting saw.

While standing back up, Alex noticed that his enemy's sword lacked the chi blaster component of his own, but the energy of the chainsaw and the center of the blade was bright red. The captain knew this meant that his counterpart was using the chi for evil, which should go without saying.

Drawing his own sharpened blade, Alex charged at his enemy, who dodged the strike and attempted a strike of his own but was deflected. The pair's blades collided together, sending sparks flying. As they fought, Alex realized that it was hard for him to keep up with his counterpart's attacks, even though he was a master swordsman! Whenever Alex managed to get a chi blaster shot off, the blast would just be deflected by his enemy's blade.

Dark Alex used a nearby concrete block to leap into the air and perform a powerful downwards strike on his foe, knocking Alex off balance. The evil swordsman then performed another heavy attack, followed up by a kick that pushed Alex to the ground once again. But before Dark Alex could finish off his opponent, a voice sounded out.

"Hey!"

The swordsman turned to his right see JayJay aiming her machine pistol at him. Dark Alex quickly crossed his arms over his chest, and when he did, a beam of energy projected from his gauntlets, forming into a shield around the area in front of his chest

JayJay opened fire, but her bullets hit the energy shield and bounced off, not breaking the barrier.

Alex jumped up off the ground and moved away from his counterpart, who was still standing strong, unfazed by the hail of bullets. Eventually, JayJay ran out of ammo and had to reload, and when she did Dark Alex was able to deactivate his shield.

"Move!" Alex said, taking the wolf by the arm and pulling her away from the crumbling US defense line. The pair linked up with Toothdee, Jack, and Skye, and began retreating back to the Typhoon as artillery bombardments rained down, making the earth shake. Toothdee used her radio to tell everyone to head back to the typhoon, and she was quickly answered by other teammates, who were speaking in tones of disbelief.

Alex spotted a Jeep nearby, having been driven half off the road. Military vehicles didn't require keys, and the group quickly got inside, with Alex driving. But soon after the Jeep started moving, a Chinese attack helicopter spotted the vehicle and engaged it. Alex swerved to avoid the bullets that struck the road, kicking up small bits of asphalt. Toothdee rooted around in the Jeep and found a small single barrel grenade launcher. But luckily Alex managed to get the Jeep into a nearby tunnel, and the helicopter stopped its chase.

Unfortunately, the aircraft returned again when the Jeep left the tunnel and fired missiles at the vehicle. The Jeep shook and the driver's side door opened causing Alex to be thrown partly out of the vehicle, his left hand gripping the steering wheel keeping him from falling to the road below. Noting that Alex had a better shot than anyone else, Toothdee handed him the grenade launcher, which Alex grabbed in his one hand that wasn't on the steering wheel, before aiming at the helicopter and firing. The grenade hit the cockpit and the aircraft went spinning before crashing into a building. The captain quickly pulled himself into the car and regained control of the vehicle, and the team soon arrived at the typhoon.

000

US soldiers and the other members of Heroes all boarded the typhoon, while Alex was on the bridge getting ready to take off.

"Everyone's on board, sir!" The voice of a soldier said via the radio.

"Affirmative" Boehm responded, getting ready to pull the typhoon up off the ground. However once the ship lifted above the local buildings, Alex saw the mysterious black vessel, the Black typhoon, hovering right in front of them, with its massive main cannon ready to fire.

"Alex watch out!" Toothdee yelled, attempting to fire at the vessel with weapons systems.

Thinking quick, Alex gunned the ship's engines and turned slightly so they wouldn't hit the enemy vessel. This caused the blast from the black typhoon's main gun to miss the ship and instead obliterate a building on the ground below. However as the typhoon fled at full speed, it scraped against its dark counterpart, causing damage to both ships.

"They're turning around." Toothdee said, noticing the black typhoon preparing another shot. Alex guided the ship into a cloud bank, and moved erratically once inside, trying to avoid being hit. Toothdee activated the ship's radar jammer and the ship's cloaking system. An image of the sky around the ship was projected all over the ships retroreflective panels, rendering it invisible. The typhoon fled at full speed, quickly leaving the combat zone and the threat of destruction by the Black typhoon.

Alex sighed and rubbed his head "let's get to the nearest military base. We can drop off the soldiers and refuel and rearm."

Toothdee nodded and began to plot a course. This was a severe blow to Heroes, although they had held off one Chinese assault, in the end, their dark counterparts arrived and successfully captured Guam, leaving the team with the crushing feeling of defeat.

 **Well, there you go! another exciting chapter! I hope everyone is enjoying this story! please leave a review, and I'll see all of you later!**


	7. Chapter 7: Reeling

**Hello everyone! Sorry** **this chapter took a while to get to you, but I had college finals, and then after that, I had to send my computer away to get repaired, so I was unable to spell check & post chapters. But, I just wish everyone still likes this chapter, enjoy! **

After dropping the evacuated US soldiers off at a base in Hawaii, the team waited to decide on what their next mission would be. Although there was a feeling of disappointment spread throughout the ship. Everyone felt beaten, their dark counterparts had taken Guam in no time flat, and many US soldiers had lost their lives. But right now, Fabienne Growley had requested that Alex do an interview with her, so he had to put on a happy face to boost the morale of those watching.

Arriving at her cabin, Alex saw that there was a spot in the corner where Fabienne had made tale marks on the floor, probably telling him where to stand as there was a camera set up facing the space above the tape marks.

"Ah, Alex," the snow leopard said, quickly going up to him and affixing a mic to his shirt. "Say something"

"Uh, hello?"

Fabienne looked at a laptop nearby and checked if the audio was coming through. "Ok, the sound is good. Stand on those tape marks please."

Alex did as he was instructed, and looked straight at the camera as the snow leopard counted down from 3 to 0 before clicking the record button on her laptop.

"Hello," Fabienne said, and Alex noticed she had a mic on her jacket as well "tonight I am joined by Alex Boehm, the captain who is leading the US war effort. Thank you for doing this interview."

"No problem, I'm happy to be here."

"What are your thoughts about the current state of this war?"

"I hope it doesn't destroy the world. China and the United States are the planet's most powerful militaries, and now their clashing against each other, it is not a good situation."

"It most certainly isn't, tell me, what happened during the battle you just fought at Guam?"

"Well, we landed and covered the evacuation of some civilians still on the island. Unfortunately, they didn't make it out in the end, as the Chinese destroyed the carrier with the civilians on it."

Alex could just imagine all the people gasping as he said those words. He took a deep breath and thought about the next thing he would say.

"It was hard to watch, but my team managed to keep going, and prevent any more losses. We can't stop just because we failed once. The US air strikes managed to drive Chinese land forces into a corner, and once they were dealt with, the typhoon managed to destroy the Chinese fleet with the help of US warships."

The snow leopard nodded, and Alex kept his eyes on the camera.

"However the Chinese made another attack with... some elite soldiers and a highly advanced warship, and they managed to overrun our defenses, killing many US soldiers. However we were able to evacuate on the typhoon, but the Chinese now have the Island."

"Speaking of which, what impact do you think this defeat has?"

"Well, I think everyone on board feels like we've been beaten and kicked down into the dirt, but we are persistent, and mark my words we'll come back and achieve a victory soon enough."

"That's fantastic Alex, thank you for your time."

Fabienne stopped the recording and Alex removed his microphone.

"I know you said the typhoon was going into dangerous places, but I didn't expect to get into a ship to ship engagement so soon." the newscaster said.

"Don't worry, with me at the helm and this ship's advanced armor plating, you should be safe. But we do have evacuation protocols in place just in case. I trust you've read up on all the information regarding the typhoon?"

"Yes, I know what to do in case of emergency, and I've been spending my free time exploring the ship and getting my bearings."

"That's a good thing to do if this ship is going to be your home."

"Thank you again for inviting me onboard, I got all the footage I need for tonight's report. Tune into ZNN later on"

"Maybe I will take care!" Alex said, turning to leave before the snow leopard spoke again.

"Oh Alex, listen, I know what happened on that island. How there's some evil version of you going around killing US forces, but I want you to know I'm not going to mention anything about that in my news report. People need their heroes to look up to, they need to believe in someone that will fight to win this war, they need someone like you and your team. They need to have hope that the United States can win this war."

"Thank you." Alex said, before leaving Fabienne's cabin.

000

"What species are you?" JayJay asked Toothdee, while the 2 sat in chairs on the bridge "I mean, you have large front teeth, a tail that looks like it belongs on a dinosaur, and... that is shot blue FUR right?"

"Yeah it's fur, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I am either. But I'm not like an alien or something."

"I'm just jealous that your fur is naturally blue, I have to use dye."

"What are you two up too?" Alex asked, entering the bridge. Now that the ZNN interview was over, he was going around and checking on everyone, as a way to boost morale and promote connectivity.

"Hey Alex," JayJay said "just talking about blue fur."

"Are you guys feeling ok? We just got our tails handed to us by our dark counterparts."

"Speaking of our dark counterparts," Toothdee said, "What happened during the fight with your own dark counterpart?"

"My counterpart is extremely skilled. I've never faced an enemy more experienced with a sword. His weapon is red, so he's using chi for evil, and it has a chi energy chainsaw in the blade. Also, he has this weird sort of shield technology that can block bullets."

"I didn't see my own counterpart."

"My guess is, she was onboard the typhoon, piloting it and destroying US warships"

There was silence while Toothdee thought these facts over.

"Anyways, I'm gonna see how everyone else is doing." Alex said before walking off, while JayJay did a small wave goodbye.

Toothdee was lost in thought, could Alex's counterpart really have bested him? What if he wasn't able to beat Dark Alex? And despite her friend's triumphs for justice and peace if one Alex could become such a force for evil, what would stop another one from doing the same?

000

Alex went to check in Kion and Jasiri, who were in their shared cabin. The pair opted to bunk together, as they were in a relationship, and nothing was more joyful to them than being able to cuddle. The lion and hyena were sitting on the couch and watching a movie on TV, with Jasiri snuggled into kion's chest, and a bowl of popcorn and 2 mugs of tea sitting on the table in front of them.

"Hey, you two alright?" Alex asked, wanting to make this intrusion quick as not to interrupt the couple too much.

"Yeah we're fine," Jasiri said "Just a little down about being defeated. But, although we lost this battle, we haven't lost the war."

"Oh yeah, also..." Kion spoke up "we had a run in with JayJay's dark counterpart. We barely escaped from her."

"Oh no, what are her combat strategies and tactics like?" Alex asked, hungering for knowledge so he could better defeat his enemies.

"She moves with amazing speed, grace, and lethality. Don't underestimate her Alex, she's a force to be reckoned with."

"I had a run in with your counterparts as well. But Jasiri, your counterpart used a very strange sword."

"Strange in what way?" The hyena asked.

"Do you have a pencil and paper?"

Finding it easier to draw Dark Jasiri's weapon than describe it, Alex made a rough sketch of the sword, before explaining how it could turn like a helicopter blade.

"I prefer 2 pistols," Jasiri said "Kion is the sword guy."

"Did my counterpart have a different weapon?" Kion asked.

"No, it looked like your sword, but with more battle damage," Alex said, "what are you two watching?"

"The force awakens."

On screen, a Resistance X-wing blasted down a First Order TIE fighter in an explosion of fire.

"Want to stay and watch it with us?" Jasiri asked

"No, you two are having your private time, I'll leave you be, take care." the captain said, leaving the room.

"Well, as long as we're alone..." Jasiri said, climbing on top of Kion and kissing him on the lips. The lion reached out and turned off the TV before Jasiri attacked him with another loving embrace.

000

Jack, Skye, Nick, & Judy were in the armory, checking their weapons and preparing their kits for the next battle. Judy had used the computer in the armory to write a report about her and Nick's counterparts, as they had a run in with them at Guam. Their outfits were dark, with the orange fur of Nick's counterpart looking like the color had been drained away, and the fur was almost dead. Judy worked a lot with police paperwork, so crafting a coherent and straightforward report about their counterparts combat tactics was not a problem by any means. Once the report was entered in the Heroes database, the rabbit went over to join her friends.

"We don't need to manually reload the magazines?" Skye asked

"Nope, just pour the bullets into that machine over there and put a magazine beneath it." Nick said, pointing to a contraption that contained a large funnel-shaped container filled with bullets, and space where multiple magazines could be placed. "It fills them automatically, and makes sure the right bullet is going into the right magazine."

The armory contained designated areas for each member of the team to store their kits in, which Jack & Skye had already done.

"Why aren't there any dark counterparts of us?" Jack asked, looking at Skye.

"Maybe there are?" Judy hypothesized "but they are staying hidden and working from the shadows."

"That could be possible," Skye said, "we should be on the lookout."

"You don't need to worry about them getting in here, this ship has advanced security measures and an experienced team defending it."

"I have to say I'm impressed with the gear here," Skye said, checking out the weapons workbench "we have advanced technology at the agency, but these are tools I've never seen before. I'm going to spend all night tinkering with the equipment in here."

"What am I supposed to do?" Jack said jokingly "just sit in the room alone?"

"I'll back later, & if you're asleep then I'll climb into bed with you."

"Awww," Judy said, "have you two spent any time together recently?"

"We had a mission in Hawaii, and we spent one of our days off going swimming and enjoying the beach."

"Trust me, this ship will take you to some exciting places" Nick chimed in "Once when the typhoon went to Boston and me and Carrots had a night out on the town."

"It was amazing seeing all the landmarks!" Judy said, remembering the happy memory.

"And I was just happy to spend time with my bun." Nick said, grooming Judy's ears, as foxes usually did with those they love.

"Hmm, well we were just in the South Pacific," Jack thought "Skye, want to go out and have some time together whenever the typhoon reaches a tropical island? Of course whenever we're not needed for battle."

"It's a date." Skye said, before kissing him on the cheek.

000

Laval and Eris were in the typhoons training room, which was perfectly equipped to keep the team functioning at peak capacity, both physically and mentally. The two were about to start some sparring practice, but Laval revived a FaceTime call from Cragger, who was joined by Worizz & Gorzan.

"Hey, cragger, what's up?" The lion said, watching the 3 animals on the other end shove each other trying to get in front of the camera.

"Just saying hi, are you two enjoying yourselves?" Cragger asked as Gorzan fell backward out of frame.

"Yeah, we're keeping busy between battles, sorry there's not much action there in Chima."

"Don't worry, we still find ways to have fun. I hope you two are doing some serious work in the battles you fight."

"Of course."

"Ok, well we'll leave you two be, bye-" the crocodile was cut off as Worizz clamored in front of him, causing the phone to fall into a stream the group was standing next too before the call cut off.

Laval placed his phone down before heading over to his bag in the corner of the room.

"I just remembered Eris, I have something to give you."

The eagle was instantly intrigued, Laval always gave her nice gifts, in the past, she had gotten flowers & pastries from him.

Reaching into his bag, the lion presented Eris with a dark wooden box with gold trim. So enamored in the box's outer beauty, Laval had to remind her to open the box and see what was inside. What was inside was an assortment of finely crafted stones and pieces of metal. A set of tools to sharpen her axe, and keep it looking pristine through battle after battle.

"I hope you can use that to keep your axe in perfect condition." Laval said.

Eris noted some gold lettering on the inside of the box cover, saying 'to Eris, with love. -Laval'

"Oh, Laval," Eris said, completely in love with the present.

"Thank you." the eagle said, wrapping her lion in a hug.

000

Haida clicked the submit button on his computer, and a box of text with the words 'submitted' came up. The hyena checked a clock on the wall, before turning back to the computer and realizing he had indeed finished everything he needed to finish for the day. Another pallet of cannon shells had been ordered, new reports had been sent to Washington, more medical supplies had been stashed in the storage room, and the database had been scrubbed for malware.

Haida still wasn't used to how easy his job was now. Before he had worked in an accounting department where there were a million things to do on a daily basis, but his current job was a lot easier because of computer technology. There were still papers and files, but most tasks were digitalized, making them a lot less stressful and time-consuming. He appreciated that this job was a lot less stressful for the red panda he loved, and an easier job meant more time the hyena could spend with Retsuko.

"Hey Retsuko," Haida said, turning around "do you want to go out for..."

The red panda was fast asleep at her desk, face down on a blank requisition form, gently breathing in and out.

He watched her for a moment, she was adorable, with bright soft fur that was kept well groomed. Haida wondered if that was why he fell for her. He did occasionally worry, as the Retsuko had a tendency to work too hard, but he was glad this job was easier than the last one they had. After a few seconds of watching her sleep, the hyena picked Retsuko up and started heading to put her down in a more comfortable bed.

Heading through the typhoon's hallways, he passed by Alex, who greeted him with a small wave, before the captain headed to his own cabin. Despite being the captain Alex's quarters were nothing special, and the same standard cabin everyone else got. Cabins on the typhoon were more spacious than other warships and provided a great room for habitation.

On one side of the room was the bed, which had drawers under it to store clothes. A door on one side of the room leads to the cabin's bathroom, which included a shower. On the other side of the room were the closet and a desk. Most occupants customized their rooms somehow, as all the furniture except the bed was completely moveable. Alex had a TV set up on a table at one end of the room, with a small couch in front of it. He also had a shelf that contained various models, and the walls were adorned with posters and an American flag. In combat, large armored panels would come up over the cabin's window to negate damage.

Hearing some noise across the hallway, Alex turned to face the cabin across from his own. The sign on the door said 'JayJay' and the captain could make out music playing. Opening the door, he walked into JayJay's cabin, which also had posters on the walls, and the wolf sitting on the bed listening to music playing on her phone.

Upon seeing Alex enter the room, she turned off the phone, and the cabin became a lot quieter.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked, standing up.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Alex said, wanting to check on the wolf's state of mind "are you alright? Are you feeling better? I know you are still broken up about that aircraft carrier the Chinese destroyed?"

JayJay sighed and looked away.

"I listened to what you said, I know I have to keep going, but I feel like I've failed like I've let people down."

"There's nothing we could have done JayJay. I know it hurts, but this is war, people die. But we can't stop going because we failed once. It takes time to heal, I wouldn't expect you to be back in your normal happy mood after one conversation."

"Yeah, but I did really take to heart what you said."

"I don't want to make it any worse, but Kion and Jasiri had a run in with your dark counterpart."

She sighed again.

"I don't like thinking that there's some evil JayJay running around out there, hurting people. It scares me, It's the exact opposite of who I am. I'm honestly a little bit afraid of her. But I knew that my dark counterpart would eventually show her face."

Alex put his hand on her shoulder. "As I said, we need to keep going, show the Chinese and our counterparts that what they do won't go unpunished. We are warriors, we have the strength of will to get through this, to save people, to persevere."

The wolf thought about this, before taking a deep breath and then looking Alex in his eyes.

"I'm still ready to fight Alex, wherever and whenever and you are, just give me the signal."

The captain smiled and spoke.

"As long as we're still breathing, we can win this war."

 **Now I know this chapter had a lot of dialogue and conversation, which is something I'm not good at writing, but it can't be battles and conflict all the time! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a happy new year!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Korean Campaign

**Hello everyone! Hopefully, 2019 is off to a good start for people! I'm debating whether or not I should put this story on AO3. What do you guys think? Should I do that? Let me know, but you guys are here for the story, so here you go!**

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2 US allies, South Korea and Japan, were in close proximity to China, and because of that, they were being hit hard by Chinese forces. South Korea was taking slightly more punishment, as the only thing separating it and China was the country of North Korea, which unfortunately had already aligned itself with the Chinese. Luckily the typhoon was arriving in South Korea, with the objective of its crew being to relieve some of the pressure on the military forces in the area. As a sign of patriotism, a US flag had been painted on the side of the typhoon.

The ship landed in a secluded area where it could remain hidden, and Alex, Toothdee, Kion, and Jasiri disembarked.

"Ah, South Korea," Alex said, taking a deep breath of air "home of Dva, and music groups with way too many members."

The captain still found wonder in visiting a new place, even though he had done a lot of traveling in his life.

"I expected more destruction," Kion said, "North Korea is always talked about like a rogue state and a hermit kingdom."

"Intel from Jack & Skye indicates that they did launch missiles towards the United States, but they were taken down by our iron dome missile defense systems." toothdee explained, "However we should be wary of the capacity for nuclear weapons the country possesses."

"Those missiles may have contained nuclear warheads, and that worries me like you wouldn't believe." Alex hypothesized "I'm afraid that the weapons we have created may be our undoing."

"The US does possess more nukes than North Korea, so they could have decided not to use nuclear weapons. Although as Kion says, they are a fanatic rogue state, and it wouldn't be surprising if they did launch nukes. We should probably treat those missiles like they do contain warheads."

"Maybe China is holding them back, but let's hope the situation doesn't escalate to the point where nuclear annihilation becomes a possibility. Otherwise, there is a chance..." the captain took a breath to calm his nerves. "A large portion of the world & billions of people, including us, will be obliterated."

There was the honk of a horn and a soldier in a Jeep pulled up, ready to drive the team to a forward operating base.

"What's the situation," Alex said, as the team got into the vehicle and it drove off. They were nervous about having a rogue state with nuclear weapons out there in the middle of a war between superpowers. However, the group had to push through their worry no matter how much it bothered them.

"North Koreans are pushing hard on the border, we're barely managing to hold them back." the soldier driving the team said. "Their technology isn't the best, but they have blind fighting fury and give 100% in a firefight."

"We need to protect the city of Seoul." Toothdee said, checking her weapons "we can't let the people there get hurt."

"The City is gone." the soldier said "the North Koreans wiped it completely off the map with artillery strikes. Thank god they didn't use a nuke."

"Did you managed to evacuate any civilians?!" Jasiri frantically asked.

"We got a lot of them out... but there were still many left when the initial bombardment hit. Unfortunately, we don't have the manpower to run a full search and rescue operation."

"Home team please respond," Alex said, contacting the typhoon.

"It's Judy, we read you."

"Patch me through to a team-wide broadcast."

There was a short pause while Judy completed this request.

"Attention all team members," Alex said, "I need you to gather up medical equipment and emergency supplies and head into what's left of Seoul."

"What's left of Seoul?" Eris said

"Correct, the whole city is destroyed, and our army doesn't have the manpower for a full search and rescue operation. You have to go into the city and rescue as many people as you can."

There was a slight pause, Alex assumed it was disbelief from the whole city being wiped out.

"It will be done!"

"We're on it!"

"Affirmative!"

"That's what I like to hear." Alex said, "I'll send you the location of a US medical camp."

The Jeep came out of the forest and the team was clearly able to see the wreckage of Seoul in the distance. Rubble was strewn about, and skyscrapers had huge chunks missing from them. The away team hopped their allies would find anyone trapped in the city. The team then pulled into a US firebase, while the sounds of gunfire and artillery explosions were heard clearly throughout the air.

"I feel bad for the animals in the demilitarized zone." Alex said, "so many endangered species that only exist there, just wiped off the map by this war."

The group was directed inside the base, where an officer had a holographic table set up, displaying friendly troops in blue, and hostile troops in red.

Alex spotted a nearby technician and quickly went over to her.

"I need the location of the medical camp for a search and rescue operation."

"Here, sending you the location now." the technician said, typing away on a computer gauntlet that was embedded in the arm of her uniform.

Alex checked his own gauntlet and saw that he had received the location, before sending it to his allies and walking over to the officer at the table.

"We're about to be overrun," the officer said, "I'm gonna call a retreat."

The ground shook as an artillery shell landed nearby.

"No, we can push them back, we can drive them away and lessen the pressure on your forces," Alex said, examining the holographic table.

"How can 4 operatives deal with dozens of Nork soldiers?"

"Do you have any heavy armor?"

"Yeah, outside, defending this place."

"We might need to borrow those."

The team was led outside to a pair of tanks, and upon arrival, they traded places with the tank crews. Alex and Kion got in one tank, while Jasiri and Toothdee got in the other.

Alex would be driving the tank, while Kion would be the gunner. The lion was a little nervous about taking control of a tank for the first time in a real combat situation, but Alex calmed his fears.

"Don't worry Kion, It's just like a video game."

The 2 tanks started up and began to move straight towards the North Korean positions.

"Alright," Captain Boehm said "there are a couple of artillery guns shelling that firebase. Toothdee, Jasiri, you deal with them. Kion & I will take out an incoming convoy of enemy soldiers."

"Roger that."

"For the United States!" Alex yelled as a rallying cry.

Kion spotted a group of hostile soldiers and mowed them down with his machine gun, while Alex used the cannon to take out another group of soldiers. Jasiri and Toothdee also took down a few groups of soldiers, before the 2 tanks parted ways and headed to their respective objectives.

"That convoy should be arriving any second," Alex said, driving the tank down a dirt road. As if on cue, 3 enemy trucks appeared, heading towards the tank. Boehm opened fire with the cannon, destroying one truck and causing a second one to lose control and crash. The third truck tried to flee, but Kion opened fire into its back, killing all the soldiers inside.

But it was too early to celebrate, as a North Korean tank appeared heading up the road, hitting Alex and Kion's tank with a cannon shot.

"Nork armor!"

Alex quickly fired at the tracks, immobilizing the tank, while Kion kept up suppressing fire on enemy infantry. Boehm circled the hostile tank, avoiding its main gun, before firing 2 more shots that caused the tank to explode.

"I didn't expect that thing to go down so quickly," Kion said, clearly confused. "But then again, That was a Soviet-era tank."

"Stay sharp, there's still infantry in the area."

"Then let's take care of them!"

000

Everyone else on the typhoon, save for Retsuko and Haida, had hopped into vehicles and raced into the destroyed city of Seoul.

JayJay was acting as the de facto leader, ordering everyone else to search buildings and making sure no time was wasted.

Jack, Skye, Nick, and Judy were using their smaller frames to get into areas the other team members couldn't. Laval plugged an orb of chi into his armor and powered up, using his increased strength to easily clear heavy debris. Eris was using her jet to hover and lift extremely heavy pieces of wreckage out of the way.

Once one of the team members located someone, they usually called for help, before getting the survivor out of the rubble, checking them for wounds, and getting them into one of the trucks they drove into the city.

With her enhanced hearing, JayJay heard crying from some nearby wreckage. Looking into the rubble, she found a young child with tears going down her face. It pained her immensely to see a child in a sorry state like this.

"Hello, sweetie."

The child looked up at JayJay and stopped crying, before the wolf calmly extended a paw, and pulled the child up into the light.

"Come to me, are you ok?" The wolf said, checking the child for wounds. She noticed that the child clutched a small blue anthropomorphic wolf plushie.

"No wonder she calmed down after seeing me." JayJay thought.

"Get down!" Someone yelled, prompting Jay to look up to see black streaks in the sky, indicating artillery shells headed for their position. Eris quickly flew out of the way to avoid being shot down, while JayJay grabbed the child and took cover under a large piece of concrete.

The wolf held the child close as explosions went off nearby. Once the bombardment had ceased, JayJay looked towards the position the artillery fire had come from and noticed many North Korean cannons

The wolf hoped the away team would take down that gun site soon before another bombardment tore through the decimated city.

000

Alex and Kion had received word of an artillery gun emplacement shelling the team in Seoul, and now they were racing to shut down those guns while eliminating any North Korean troops they saw.

So far the pair was doing great work, having taken out dozens of enemy troops. However, their luck took a turn for the worse when Alex spotted the black streaks of artillery shells tearing through the sky.

"Incoming!"

The shells rained down on the tank, throwing Alex and Kion around, but thankfully not breaching the hull of the tank. Alex tried desperately to get the tank moving once the bombardment had ceased, but the vehicle was unresponsive.

"Damnit! Tracks are damaged! She won't go!"

Kion swore under his breath while Alex ushered him to get out of the tank, as a second bombardment would be incoming and they couldn't stay here.

The pair disembarked the tank before Alex spotted more black streaks heading for them.

"Run!"

Alex and Kion sprinted at top speed while artillery shells rained down on their position, causing trees to fall and dirt to fly into the air.

In the chaos, Alex and Kion got separated, and the captain had to focus on sliding under crumbling trees and shielding his face from thrown up rocks. Once the bombardment stopped, Alex looked around for Kion but didn't see him. However, he did see the North Korean artillery guns that were shelling Seoul.

It appeared that US forces had attacked this site recently and failed, as there were dead US soldiers everywhere, and even a US Humvee that still appeared to be in working condition. There was also a damaged artillery cannon that had been thrown over on its side.

Suddenly gunfire sounded throughout the air and the hostile soldiers went on high alert. Looking around, Alex spotted Kion, covered in cuts and burn marks, cutting down North Korean soldiers.

"No point in being quiet." Alex thought, before engaging the enemy troops and taking cover behind the downed artillery gun.

2 heavily armored soldiers carrying LMGs began pinning Alex down, but he noticed that the artillery cannon he was hiding behind was still ready to fire, and the barrel was aimed right at the hostile soldiers pinning him down. Finding the firing mechanism, Alex activated the cannon and sent a shell right into the North Korean troops, wiping them out.

Spotting a cannon in an elevated position, The captain made a break for the gun, shooting the 2 hostile soldiers on guard, then taking control of the cannon, aiming, and firing at the enemies pinning Kion down. The lion ran from cover and joined his companion.

"Load another shell!" The captain yelled, to which Kion obliged.

Once the cannon was loaded again, Alex fired at a group of artillery guns, igniting the ammo crates and causing a chain reaction that destroyed the entire group of weapons and ammunition, as well as many enemy troops.

"Tank!" Kion yelled as an armored vehicle rolled into view. Alex fired upon the vehicle, blowing its turret off and rendering it useless.

Alex directed his fire to 2 more groups of artillery guns, turning them both into smoldering husks of metal. A North Korean helicopter appeared and opened fire with its door mounted gun. But after taking a shot from the cannon, the aircraft exploded and crashed to the ground.

A pair of US fighter jets streaked across the sky, gunning down a mass of infantry and dropping bombs.

"Another tank!" Kion yelled. Alex fired at another group of artillery guns near the tank, and the resulting blast managed to engulf and destroy the vehicle

Kion loaded the cannon again and Alex aimed downwards to fire another shot at the tank to make sure it was destroyed. However all of a sudden the captain was spun around and punched in the face by a North Korean soldier wearing an officer's uniform. Kion was busy brawling with a heavily armored soldier, who was managing to land some pretty good punches on the lion. The commander kicked Alex over a sandbag barricade and he tumbled down a small dirt incline in front of the cannon.

The commander quickly hopped the barricade and drew his pistol. Alex jumped up and tried another melee strike, but the commander blocked the attack and headbutted Alex, forcing him back down to the ground. The North Korean commander lined up a killing shot before the artillery cannon fired.

Alex instinctively covered his face, but when he looked back at the commander, he saw the officer staring at his arm, or rather where it used to be, before falling to the ground.

Kion came out from behind the artillery cannon and gave a wave to Alex before the captain picked himself up off the ground and headed behind the cannon to see the knocked out heavy soldier.

"Open the breach."

Kion followed suit and Alex tossed a thermite grenade in, before closing the cannon. The grenade began to melt the breach shut, destroying the gun, while the pair of heroes walked away.

Alex spotted the still operational Humvee from earlier, and the pair hopped inside.

"We did good work for the United States today." the captain said while Kion started up the vehicle.

"All in a day's work of fighting for freedom."

"Now let's get to that medical camp, see how everyone's doing."

000

The city team had rescued dozens of civilians from the wreckage of Seoul and were now dropping off the injured at the nearby US medical camp. Jasiri and Toothdee had arrived and were helping the city team unload the wounded into a tent that was already full of soldiers and medics checking out survivors.

JayJay and Toothdee carried a man with a broken leg into the tent and handed him off to 2 awaiting medical personnel.

"That's everyone," Laval said, breathing a sigh of relief as the team grouped up. "Thank the legend beats we got to them. Feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest."

"Everyone is safe now, no one is in danger," Jack said

"Hey!" Someone yelled "Let's hear it for these guys saving all these people! Go, Heroes!"

Cheers broke through the tent, as emergency personnel and civilians alike clapped and yelled.

"You go, Heroes!"

"You saved my life, I'm forever in your debt."

"No one else could have rescued as many people as you did."

Alex and Kion arrived and headed into the main tent to be greeted by the cheering. Jasiri turned around and saw Kion, and quickly wrapped him in a hug upon seeing his burns and cuts. The hyena took out a wipe from her medical kit and began cleaning Kion's face and wounds while staring into the lion's eyes.

The assembled people started chanting.

"HEROES! HEROES! HEROES!"

"I take it you guys did well?" Alex said, giving a hi-five to Toothdee and JayJay.

"Yep, the North Koreans are on the retreat," Toothdee said.

"And we rescued dozens of people!" JayJay added.

This victory had boosted the team's morale and demonstrated their strength.

"Good work people," Alex said, "we saved a lot of lives today."

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 **Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a review if you think I'm doing something wrong, or could do something better. Thank you for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9: Hunting From The Skies

**Hey everyone! Before we get into this chapter I just want to say that I'm going back to college so updates might be less frequent. However, I do have a bunch of chapters pre-written so I can probably just post those. Anyway, let's get going with the story.**

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The North Korean offensive had been turned around completely, and now it was a US offensive moving further and further north into the country. Heroes was providing cover for ground forces during a crucial push through a heavily defended area. The helicopters they were using could be completely operated by one person, but they were capable of holding 2, and the second person would serve as a gunner.

There were 3 helicopters, designated Hero 1, Hero 2, and Hero 3 for this mission.

Alex and Toothdee were in Hero 1, Jack and Skye were piloting Hero 2, and Laval and Eris were flying Hero 3.

A column of tanks surrounded by infantry moved up a road in the forest below, while the 3 helicopters flew overhead.

"Seeker drones have spotted enemy artillery emplacements and an ambush ready to spring," Toothdee said, as red symbols appeared on the HUDs of the choppers.

"Roger, Hero 2, take the eastern artillery emplacement. Hero 3, you handle the ambush. Toothdee and I will take down the other artillery emplacement."

The formation of choppers separated, and within a minute the sounds of explosions and gunfire filled the air as the helicopters attacked their targets.

Hero 3 used missiles to destroy 2 tanks, while mopping up infantry with its machine gun. Korean troopers tried shooting at the aircraft with their rifles, but its armor shrugged off the damage.

Hero 1 & 2 had targeted their artillery sites with rockets and fired, blowing up many of the cannons about to bombard the tank column. Machine gun fire also worked great and damaging boxes of shells, causing them to explode and cause more destruction.

"Great shooting Jack!" Skye said, her voice being heard throughout the open radio.

"Thank you, sweetie!"

Eris heard this and subsequently completed Laval, who thanked his mate accordingly.

Toothdee notified the column of tanks about the destroyed ambush, and the heavy armor pressed forward.

"Hostile vehicles spotted on a nearby roadway!"

"I see them," Skye said, flying her helicopter over to the roadway, allowing Jack to engage the convoy.

"SHIT!" Hero 2 quickly moved away as explosions appeared all around it "enemy flak cannon."

"It can't hit all of us at once," Alex said, as Hero 1 & 3 moved in, their superior firepower and numbers destroying the flak truck and its entourage.

"How bad is the damage to your helicopter?" Eris asked

"Just a scratch." Skye said, "we can still fight."

"Glad to hear," Toothdee said, "drones have spotted a nest of flak guns, but it's too heavily defended for us to engage."

She directed the Tank column to make a detour and take out the flak site so the heroes could keep providing cover.

In the meantime, the wing of helicopters lit up a North Korean bunker nearby. They bombarded the concrete structures with volleys of missiles, no doubt collapsing underground parts of the structure, as was their intention.

"Skye, Jack, you guys make an excellent pilot and gunner." Alex complimented.

"Thanks!" Skye said, "Jack can also fly, but he chose to be the helicopter gunner for this mission."

"It's nice to have more pilots on the team."

"What's our next target?"

"Well, our allies are taking out that flak site, so-"

"Hostile jets!" Toothdee said, prompting the helicopters to spin towards the approaching aircraft.

"How many?" Laval asked

"3, one for each of us."

Toothdee fired her machine guns at a jet that was aiming directly at her, and the aircraft began to smoke as it circled the helicopter. Alex locked on with a missile and fired, the munition streaking behind the aircraft before hitting it, sending the plane crashing to the ground.

One of the other jets had been shot in the cockpit, causing it to crash, and in turn, making the 3rd jet withdraw.

"That was... easy," Laval said, clearly expecting a harder fight.

"The North Korean Air Force is in a sorry state" Toothdee explained, "a lot of their jets don't even have enough fuel, and they're using Soviet-era aircraft."

"Hey Laval, you want to fly to Japan and get some sushi after this?" Eris asked, thinking about something they could do after this mission.

"Sure, let's take your interceptor."

"Hey, can you pick me up some sushi rice please?" Alex requested.

Toothdee listened into her radio for a few seconds before speaking. "Flak guns disabled, we can move on the main objective."

All US forces in the area began to advance on a small town that would serve as a staging area for the next leg of the offensive. The town was heavily defended with multiple flak guns and cannons, as well as many North Korean troops. But the team would make sure that the town was in US hands soon enough.

Strafing the town, the team concentrated fire on flak cannons first, destroying many before the remaining cannons opened fire.

The 3 helicopters moved erratically and unpredictability, making them hard to hit, while they continued whittling down the anti-aircraft guns in the town as the ground forces made their assault.

Alex used missiles to destroy a military helicopter lifting off, and it crashed to the ground in a nearby field. Hero 1 then focused its fire on a statue of a prominent North Korean figure, sending the stone structure toppling over.

"Careful Alex!" Toothdee said, noting the large numbers of explosions he was creating throughout the town. "There could be civilians in those buildings!"

"I'm being careful."

A group of North Korean troopers armed with rocket launchers raced to one of the town's walls and fired heat-seeking missiles at Hero 3.

Eris let loose some flares to shake off the missiles, while Hero 1 destroyed the troopers with the rocket launchers. Hero 2 used its machine gun to mop up some infantry, while the other 2 helicopters fired volleys of missiles at a building that had been identified as the local garrison.

"That should be it," Skye said, "the ground units can handle anyone left inside."

The helicopters began to circle, waiting for the all clear so they could land. Unfortunately, the third North Korean jet had returned, dive bombing Hero 1 and damaging the helicopter's rotor. Hero 1 began to spin out of control, and its occupants held on tight while the other 2 choppers shot down the North Korean jet.

Hero 1 crashed into the ground and rolled over before coming to a stop and catching on fire. Alex tried to activate the canopy's emergency release, but the canopy wouldn't fly off. Luckily it had been badly damaged in the crash, and Alex and Toothdee were able to shoot the glass out with their sidearms. The pair claimed out of the wreckage and moved away in case what was left of the helicopter exploded.

A group of North Korean soldiers fleeing the town engaged the downed pilots. Fortunately Hero 2 & Hero 3 took them down with machine guns and rockets.

"You 2 ok?" Laval said through the radio.

"We're fine." Alex said, checking himself for any cuts or wounds "we'll make our way to the town, it should be clear any minute now."

000

A few hours later, and the town was now being transformed into a staging area for a push further into the country. Helicopters and aircraft brought in supplies. While soldiers stood guard and unloaded the incoming crates. Other members of Heroes had arrived, in preparation for the next assault.

Standing on one of the town's walls, Alex thought about the current state of the Korean campaign. US forces were pushing the country's capital, but the North Korean high command had been moved deeper into the country. The pursuit of North Koreans leaders forced Heroes to spearhead the assault deeper and deeper into the country, killing soldiers and capturing towns along the way, as they had just done. Capturing the country's capital would be a major victory, but the team would focus on finding the military leaders and crippling the North Korean War effort.

Tomorrow, they would make an assault on another target on their way to the base that was suspected to contain North Korean high command.

Looking up, Alex spotted the next target in the distance, a prison camp, situated on the side of a mountain.

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 **This helicopter focused chapter was a prime example of how I try & spice up chapters by adding something interesting & different that catches people's eyes. So I hope everyone liked it and will enjoy what's coming next!**


	10. Chapter 10: Liberation

**Here's another chapter for you guys! College has been going well so far, and I'm working hard! But enough about me here's the reason you guys came here for.**

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5 speedorz raced across the landscape with Alex at the lead, followed by Toothdee, JayJay, Nick, and Judy. Their vehicles were all customized to the specifications of the driver, with JayJay's being painted with bright colors to add some flare, while Toothdee preferred more muted tones.

This was JayJay's first time driving a speedor, and as such she was happily racing around, feeling the wind through her fur and hair as the team headed for the prison camp that was their next target.

"We're nearing the camp," Alex said, "prepare yourselves!"

The team stopped in the tree line, before looking at a large gate in front of them, guarded by multiple soldiers.

"Artillery group are you ready?" Alex radioed to a nearby team of mobile cannons.

"Affirmative, the guard barracks is targeted, and there should be no civilian casualties."

"Roger that, fire!"

After a few seconds, artillery shells rained down on the compound, destroying one of the main buildings. Toothdee fired a rocket and destroyed the main gate before the team charged in on their speedorz.

"JayJay! Judy! Secure the gatehouse!" Alex yelled, swinging his blade at a hostile soldier.

The 2 mammals hopped off their speedorz and raced into a nearby building.

The other 3 team members charged at a group of enemy soldiers, cutting them down with swords, guns, and speedor weapons.

"Gatehouse is clear!" Judy said

"Ok, you 2 stay here and cover the gate. Wait for our reinforcements, Nick, Toothdee, with me."

The trio headed forward into an area that appeared to be acting as a garage, with Toothdee quickly blowing up 2 trucks so no enemies could escape.

Nick dealt with a soldier hiding behind a nearby box, while Alex used his sword's blaster to kill 2 soldiers fleeing into a nearby building.

"Their falling back, probably to lure us into a trap," Toothdee said.

"Then we're gonna just have to fight through it. Be on your guard."

The trio got off their vehicles and began to move into one of the buildings on foot.

"Alex, it's Fabienne." the snow leopard said through a radio "I'm using a drone to capture footage of your assault and transmit it to ZNN headquarters so they can air it live."

"So make sure to put on a real show!" Nick said

"Well, just make sure your viewers know that this is a live combat zone, and some images may be graphic," Alex said

"Of course."

"We need to get to the control room of blocks A & B, we can open all the cells from there" Toothdee explained, "then we'll have to go open cells at the rear of the compound that is not part of any block."

Turning down a hallway, the team was confronted with 2 more hostile soldiers who tried to retreat before being gunned down.

Upon reaching a large room with many prison cells, the team came under fire from a squad of enemies and was forced to take cover. Toothdee fired her last rocket at the squad, wiping them out and enabling the team to move forward.

"We should be in cell block A, meaning cell block B is to the north."

"Nick, get into the guardhouse at the end and open the cells, me and Toothdee will stay here and cover you."

"On it!" The fox said, taking down 2 hostile soldiers in the gatehouse before rushing in.

A squad of troopers clad in heavy armor and riot gear raced into the cell area, and opened fire on Alex and Toothdee. 2 soldiers equipped with bulletproof shields created a wall and began to advance forward.

"Alex, the levers to open the cells require a key!"

"Search the guys in there, one of them should have it!"

The fox quickly went to work looking through the pockets of fallen guards, while Alex and Toothdee continued to hold off the advancing North Korean heavy squad. Alex prepared to throw a grenade, but then the cells opened.

Some of the prisoners raced out and overwhelmed the heavy squad, taking their guns and riot gear.

"Our reinforcements have arrived," Judy said through Alex's radio "but there's an enemy convoy approaching!"

"You two handle it, we'll finish freeing the prisoners."

"Got it!"

The trio exited block A and headed down another hallway, winding their way through a few corridors, before emerging into cell block B, where US troops were already engaging hostile infantry.

"Well, it appears some esteemed associates have arrived to help us in this venture," Nick said with his usual charm.

"Snipers!" Someone yelled, and a friendly soldier near Alex dropped to the ground. The captain picked up the failed soldier's sniper rifle and began to engage enemy troops firing at him from the guard house. Slowly advancing forward, Alex took out the snipers while his allies dealt with any other infantry. The guard house was cleared and Nick found the authorization key again before opening the cells.

"Last area, outside," Toothdee said, pointing to a hallway that would take them where they needed to go.

Taking out 4 more hostile soldiers as they went, the team came to a large outside area that contained small cells which were constructed out of decaying stone or metal.

The group split up and went in different directions to cover all areas of the outside cell block. With Nick heading south, Toothdee heading north, and Alex heading east.

The captain sliced through a guard with a baton and used his sword's chi blaster to deal with another guard with a rifle. The cells were so old and decayed, that Alex was able to destroy the locks with a chi blast or a powerful sword swing. Another group of enemies attacked the captain as he opened a couple more cells, but they were quickly dealt with once Alex deflected their bullets and hit them with chi blasts.

The number of hostiles in the area was growing thin, but another squad was still able to engage the captain. This squad had better gear, more armor, and was lead by the commander of the camp, who barked orders between bursts of rifle fire. Despite these advances, they were no match, and Alex slowly advanced, attacking guards with his blade and deflecting any incoming strikes.

"I'm done with my area," Toothdee said. "I'll come & assist you, Alex."

"I'm just finishing up," Alex said, slicing an enemy's gun to the side before stabbing him in the chest.

The camp commander saw his end coming closer and closer as Boehm continued forward, and threw open one of the cells before pulling out the woman inside and holding his rifle to her head.

Alex stopped in his tracks and took stock of the situation as Toothdee arrived nearby. All other guards were dead, it was just him, the commander, and the woman. He had to free the woman, but it would be difficult.

"Let her go and ill let you live." The captain said.

the camp commander started making demands about being allowed to leave without being harmed. All his words Alex could understand via the translation program in his gauntlet that translated the dialogue to English and sent it to his earpiece.

Something caught the captain's eye, a drone hovering near the battlefield.

"Toothdee, can you transfer control of that drone from Fabienne to me?" Alex said.

"Give me a second... got it."

Alex checked his gauntlet and noticed that he could now control the drone from his wrist. He saw himself, and the commander with the woman. Guiding the drone towards the North Korean commander holding to woman hostage, Alex increased the drone's speed and sent it crashing into the ground directly behind the camp commander. In response, he turned around to see what was happening behind him, and at that moment Alex drew his pistol, aimed, and fired a single burst of shots, striking the commander in the head, killing him.

"Are you alright?" Alex asked the woman, who began to say something that the captain's gauntlet translated.

"You saved my life, thank you, young man."

A US soldier escorted the woman away while Fabienne contacted Alex.

"You're lucky that was one of your drones and not a ZNN drone."

"Well, I hope you got your story."

"I'll let you know what my producer thinks."

Nick joined the radio call and informed Alex that he was done, as the captain noticed a North Korean soldier trying to crawl away, cursing at the US forces under his breath.

"You brought this on yourself when you started locking up innocent people." The captain said before the soldier expired. Radio silence was interrupted once again, as a US soldier came on and said the prison was clear.

000

US forces lead the rescued prisoners out of the camp, while Alex and JayJay looked on. Fallen North Korean soldiers lay nearby, part of the incoming convoy that had been decimated upon reaching the camp.

"Did you enjoy riding a speedor for the first time?" Alex asked

"Yes! That was great!"

"You wasted no time in decorating your speedor."

"What can I say, I like colors."

"And good job holding off that convoy."

"Thank you, I'm just glad we were able to get these people out of there."

The pair looked into the crowd and saw the relieved faces of liberated prisoners being lead away.

"I definitely feel better with all we've done since Guam." The captain admitted. "It was hard seeing all those lives snuffed out in seconds."

He sighed before continuing. "But, saving those US forces on the border, rescuing people from Seoul, freeing the people trapped in this camp. That's just the boost I needed to know I'm doing right in this world."

"It feels great to help the oppressed" JayJay said "I hope these people are able to move onto a better life now"

"Liberating this place was a good step, but there's still a lot more to do worldwide. Harm, oppression, persecution, all are worldwide problems that it pains me to think about. But what makes me feel better is knowing I can have a part in stopping those atrocities."

"Hey, you told me you were there if I was ever feeling down. But the reverse is also true, I'm here for you. You should cool it with the strong tough guy attitude, & admit if you're feeling down."

"I just don't want to bother people."

"It's not bothersome if you're admitting you need help, remember that."

Alex thought over these words. "I will, thank you."

"On another note, I can't thank you enough for having me on this team, I can reach so much more of the world now. And wherever there are oppressed people, I'll be there to help them." The wolf said, holding up her paw. The pair locked their hands and shared a moment of mutual determination.

"And we'll do it together as a team, because we're stronger when we stand united, together."


	11. Chapter 11: Train To China

**Hello! First of all, I'd like to thank my friend Jafethortiz for that amazing cover artwork for this story! thank you again! Other than that, I'm doing pretty good, just dealing with the normal stuff. I hope everyone out there who's reading this is having a good day as well!**

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A black helicopter streaked through the sky above the Korean mountains. Passing by tall peaks and steep cliffs.

"Alright, here's our objective," Alex said, standing up in the back of the aircraft. "Thanks to Intel from the ZIA, we know that North Korean high command is making a break for the Chinese border in a fleet of specially designed trains"

An image of 3 trains appeared on a screen in the back of the helicopter, and Skye, Jack, and JayJay watched carefully.

"The first train is used to check the safety of the lines, and it's already in China, so there's nothing we can do about it"

A yellow line of text saying 'escaped' appeared over one of the trains on screen.

"The third train carries additional staff and followers, but it's already been destroyed by our teammates and US forces"

A red line of text saying 'destroyed' appeared over another train on screen.

"But the second train, that's our target"

White text appeared over the last train on screen, saying 'target'.

"It's armored, so the plan it to derail it, and make sure everyone inside is dead. However Chinese jets are protecting the train, but US jets and Eris are running interference for us. But we'll have to board the train and send it careening off the tracks. Jack, I'll let you cover the gear we're gonna use"

Jack stood up and pulled a set of boots and gloves out of a container in the helicopter.

"Magnet boots, and mag gloves these will allow us to keep a grip on the speeding train. They might make it a bit difficult to use your weapons, as said weapons are made of metal. But it shouldn't be too much trouble"

"We're approaching the train," Toothdee said from the pilot's seat.

The 4 mammal team donned the magnet gear, with everyone but Alex commenting on how they didn't normally wear shoes.

The helicopter rounded a mountain and the train came into view, along with Chinese and US aircraft fighting it out in the sky. Toothdee flew erratically to avoid enemy jets as Alex opened the side door. Once the vehicle was hovering above the train, the team jumped onboard and quickly activated their mag-boots. Toothdee darted away with the helicopter so she wouldn't be at risk from enemy fire.

"Skye and I will advance on the inside," Jack said "you two advance up here."

The rabbit and fox couple hopped down into a break between 2 cars and began attempting to get inside.

Alex and JayJay moved up on the train roof, watching the ongoing air battle before JayJay pointed out something ahead. A squad of North Korean soldiers climbing onto the train roof, weapons ready.

Alex drew his blade to block incoming shots, as there was no cover, while JayJay fired back with her machine pistol.

"Hurry!" The captain said, deflecting incoming rounds. "I can't hold them forever!"

As they slowly made headway, the hostile soldiers fell to the wolf's shots, and bullets deflected back at them. Once the squad was dispatched, the pair began making haste towards the front of the train, where the engines were. However another squad climbed up onto the roof, and the battle resumed, with bullets flying in both directions.

As JayJay reloaded her weapon and hid behind Alex, her keen wolf eyes spotted something up ahead.

"Tunnel!"

The pair ran to the side of the train and hung off its side, using their magnetic gloves to keep a grip on the side of the speeding car.

The train entered the tunnel, and there were screams from above as the enemy soldiers were hit by the tunnel entrance. However, Alex and JayJay were safely clinging to the train's side, which had a lot of space as the train was passing through a 2 rail tunnel.

Alex looked inside the train through one of the windows and saw Jack and Skye engaging enemy soldiers inside. One of the hostiles saw the captain and opened fire, but the train windows were bulletproof.

As the train exited the tunnel, Alex and JayJay climbed back up to the roof and made a dash for the engines, thankfully reaching them without any more interference.

As Alex went to breach the door, a North Korean soldier burst out of it and pushed Alex towards the side of the train, before sending them both tumbling over it. Captain Boehm managed to grab the railing and avoid falling off the train, before slamming the soldier's head into the railing, causing him to lose his grip on Alex and fall off the train.

"I've got you!" JayJay said, helping her friend back onto the train.

"Thanks, do you have the charges?"

"Of course, I've come prepared"

The 2 placed explosive charges around the engine, and Jack radioed them to inform the pair they had placed their charges on the second engine.

"Toothdee, we need a pick up here!"

"On it!"

As the 4 mammals climbed to the roof of the train, Toothdee came in with the helicopter, and hovered just above the train, enabling the 4 mammals to jump onboard. As the aircraft pulled away, the team clicked the detonators.

Explosions tore through the train engines and train cars skidded off the tracks, flipping over and breaking apart. The vehicle now lay in shambles, with pieces scattered in all directions.

"Looks like 2 of the cars are more armored than the rest of the train," Toothdee said. "They're completely intact. North Korean leadership must be in one of them"

"What about the other one?" Skye asked.

"I'm detecting radiation coming from the second car. It must be nuclear material"

"Looks like our job is not done here," Alex said "toothdee! Hover above the wreckage! Jack, Skye, you 2 handle the nuclear car. JayJay and I will handle the leadership"

The chopper hovered above the ground, and the team repelled down before splitting up and heading to their respective objectives, taking out a few North Korean soldiers that had survived the crash.

The hull of the 2 train cars hadn't been breached, so the teams placed thermite charges to open them.

"Guys! Heads up! Chinese ground forces are headed your way!"

Alex and JayJay witnessed a truck of enemy soldiers pass them, heading for Skye and Jack. A second truck pulled up and the soldiers hopped out and engaged the pair. Opening up with a volley of automatic fire, the two took out a couple soldiers before they could get to cover. They stayed behind some cargo boxes, watching the locations Chinese soldiers were taking cover. Whenever an enemy soldier popped up to shoot, Alex and JayJay opened fire and gunned them down. Carefully picking their shots soon resulted in the enemies lying dead amongst the wreckage. But more hostiles were on the way, and a buggy armed with a turret pulled up before engaging. Alex tossed a grenade, and the buggy exploded in a shower of fire.

Jack and Skye were having worse luck and were pinned down by another buggy and a group of hostile soldiers.

"Need a hand?"

Toothdee appeared in the helicopter and used machine guns to mop up the Chinese soldiers, clearing the area for Jack and Skye.

"Thanks for that, we owe you one," Skye said.

Another enemy task force, consisting of 3 trucks and 2 buggies were nearing the train wreckage.

"Get ready, there's more coming," Alex said, preparing for combat.

But before the convoy could reach its objectives, Eris strafed them in her jet, firing rockets and chi blasts.

Some of the trucks tipped over and exploded, while the buggies were thrown into the air.

"Don't worry about any approaching vehicles!" Eris said, before circling back around to destroy any other incoming vehicles.

The thermite charge had finished, and a massive hole was now burned into the side of the train car. While JayJay kept watch, Alex approached the train car and stepped in. The inside of the car was filled with smoke, but Alex could clearly make out a large central table, along with propaganda posters all over the walls. Chairs and bodies were strewn about with the latter dressed in high ranking military uniforms. Alex noticed a figure getting up off the ground and staggering forward. Drawing his pistol, the captain shot the figure in the head before he could potentially grab a weapon. Using the camera in his glasses, Alex scanned the faces of the bodies lying around the train car, confirming all their identities as North Korean high command. With a few more names scratched off the US most wanted list, the captain left the smoking train car.

"Guys, we've unlocked our objective and discovered a lot of nuclear material," Jack said through the radio "we could use some help getting it onboard the helicopter"

"Alex and I are on our way, we're all done here," JayJay said, the 2 sprinting through the train wreckage to meet Jack and Skye.

Upon arrival, the pair assisted in taking down a trio of Chinese soldiers besieging Jack and Skye, before the helicopter came in and hovered above a large container with the nuclear symbol on it.

Alex and JayJay attached the rope lines from the helicopter onto the container, while Jack and Skye dealt with enemy forces. A few rocket troopers appeared and aimed at the helicopter, but they were quickly dispatched.

Once all the lines were connected, the 4 mammal team hopped aboard the container and held on tight as the helicopter lifted it into the air. They managed to take out a few more Chinese soldiers before the aircraft left the area.

"Well I think we can consider this a victory," Skye said

"One rogue nation defeated, one container of nuclear material captured, and one leadership council eliminated," Jack said

"Would anyone be up for a break?" JayJay asked "I definitely could go for one"

"I'll second that, how about Japan" Alex suggested "I hear it's nice this time of year"

"So we're having sushi for dinner? Good, because I'm starving"

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 **Once again thank you to everyone who read this, and I hope I was able to make your day a little better!**


	12. Chapter 12: A Well Deserved Break

**Another chapter for you guys today! I've been thinking about getting more art done for this story, but I have it on good authority that my words paint the perfect picture! This chapter actually had me really nervous as I went over it, but hopefully, it's good! Let me know what you guys think, and let's get right into this slower paced chapter!**

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North Korea had been defeated, their leadership killed, and their nuclear weapons captured. But the war was far from over. US troops had pushed far into the country, almost right to China's doorstep. But the Chinese had anticipated this and had heavily upgraded the defenses on their border with the country, constructing the most powerful fortifications in existence. It would be hell to push through, but when the time came US forces would break through those defenses. A staging area right at China's door was a major victory so early in the war, but the country was still fit to fight. Chinese ships and troops were all over the Pacific, and they could still strike almost anywhere.

However, right now, Heroes was taking a break after striking such a savage blow for China. The typhoon had landed near Mt Fuji, and Alex and JayJay were sitting in chairs out on the deck of the ship, watching the sunset over the mountain. The two ate Japanese cuisine and drank tea from a local shop as they watched the beautiful colors in the sky.

"I've always wanted to visit Japan," JayJay said between bites "such a beautiful country"

"Very advanced too." Alex responded, munching on a chopstick full of sushi rice "and not just technology wise, they have all sorts of cool little gizmos and tricks around the country"

"What do you mean?"

"Like a lot of Japanese toilets have a sink built into the top. So the water that you use to wash your hands can then be used to flush the toilet"

"Oh, that's environmentally friendly"

"It's those cool little tricks that I really enjoy" Alex sipped some tea "and as you can clearly see, the beauty of the country is astounding.

"Such a beautiful sunset, can you take a picture of me with it?"

The wolf handed Alex her phone and struck a pose a few feet away.

"Oh, it's prettier now" Alex joked, lining up the shot, prompting the wolf to chuckle and blush slightly as the captain took a couple of pictures.

"Hopefully these are good"

JayJay looked through the pictures before thanking her friend.

"I'm glad to finally get a break"

"Same, I couldn't handle endless combat"

"Here's to a job well done in Korea," Alex said, holding up his teacup, prompting JayJay to clink her own cup against his. "We eliminated a rogue state that has been a problem for decades, struck a decisive blow against the enemy, and freed so many people"

"I feel great, knowing that I had a hand in helping all those people"

"Based on reports, we're taking in and caring for a lot of North Korean citizens that have been imprisoned and mistreated"

"Alex, remember how I was depressed when the Chinese blew up that aircraft carrier in Guam? You were right, I just had to keep going. And now, I've been able to make an amazing difference in the world. I couldn't have done it without you"

"We'll be doing a lot more for people once we make a move on China. The country has done a lot of bad things, oppression of many certain groups, censoring large parts of media, the list goes on. It will be another major accomplishment to help those people as well"

"You know I'm ready to assist you anytime, anywhere"

"Also give yourself more credit, it's not just me doing all this work. Your holding your own on the battlefield, and your a great and talented individual to have on this team"

"Thank you, that means a lot," the wolf said, putting her hand on Alex's shoulder.

The captain gently squeezed her hand. "I'm glad to hear you feel better"

000

Nick, Judy, Jack, and Skye spent a lot of time together, watching movies, performing daily tasks, or just chatting. Today was different though, as Skye and Judy were in the shooting range keeping their skills sharp for the next combat situation. Nick and Jack were off doing something else, with Judy suspecting it would involve pawpsicles. Toothdee headed down to the range to test her skills and revived a warm greeting from the 2 mammals already there.

What made this shooting range advanced was its holographic targets, which removed the need for actual physical targets that would degrade over time. Also, it allowed for easy customization of training programs.

"So how do you guys know each other?" Toothdee asked, selecting a training program and checking her rifle.

"Well, Nick and Jack were friends as kits" Judy explained, shooting a target down range with her tranquilizer pistol "then later on the 4 of us started working together as part of an effort to establish a link between the ZPD & ZIA. That's how we all got acquainted."

"And since then we've been inseparable," Skye said, finishing her friend's sentence.

"I'm glad to have ZIA & ZPD operatives on this team, it promotes better connectivity," Toothdee said, engaging some targets downrange. "Is it just me or does Alex seem more distant lately?"

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

"I can't put my finger on it, but he seems different with regards to our counterparts. Like something about them changed him. He's almost like... more aggressive, more ruthless. And between you guys and me, I'm worried about how we have evil versions of ourselves killing people out there"

"He seems fine to me, but I wouldn't know," Skye said "but it's possible that he's in a way upset that there's a dark version of him, after all, you just said you were worried about the same thing"

"Yeah, I am, but..." she trailed off, unable to put what she was thinking into words, leaving Skye and Judy wondering what was gonna come next. "...maybe I'm just overreacting. But I think it would be important to make sure we stay warriors for peace and justice and don't become the dark villains we hope to destroy."

The rabbit and fox nodded in agreement.

"Now then, how about a friendly competition?" Toothdee asked, pressing a few buttons on the console to link Judy's firing lane, Skye's lane, and her own. Point indicators appeared above the lanes of all 3 heroes, who raised their weapons as the timer counted down.

3... 2... 1...

000

Haida and Retsuko had left the typhoon and were visiting their home city of Tokyo. Kion and Jasiri had also come along, wanting to see the sights, and figuring there were no better guides than people who actually lived in the city.

The hyena and red panda had shown the couple all sorts of interesting areas around the city, such as a local art museum, and a scenic walk with cherry blossom trees. Kion described the walk as romantic, with the other mammals agreeing. As such, the 2 couples had spent almost half an hour making out, before they decided to leave after receiving some weird looks.

The group had also visited the Tokyo sky tree, which was a massive tower with a stunning view from the observation deck. Jasiri had spent a little too much money on the metal viewing scopes implanted in the deck. However she did manage to catch some good views of , and Retsuko had directed the hyena to view her apartment. She had even taken a look at the typhoon, spotting Alex and JayJay sitting outside on the ship's deck.

Tokyo was a city with less of a human presence than other locations. It wasn't out of the ordinary to see non-humans across the planet, but humans did greatly outnumber other sentient species on earth. Tokyo reminded Kion & Jasiri of their home city of Zootopia, one of many places where it was rare to see humans. It almost felt like a metropolis they knew & loved.

Now, as the day was ending and night was falling, the city's lights became alive, transforming Tokyo into a display of color. A light drizzle of rain poured down from the sky as Retsuko lead the group to a karaoke bar, a place that she and Haida knew all too well. Entering the building, an attendant lead them to a room Retsuko requested, before taking an order for food and drinks.

Retsuko and Haida got something with alcohol in it, while Kion and Jasiri opted for tea.

"Come on Kion, sing something" Jasiri encouraged, trying to get her lion to sing something. "They have songs in English"

"Oh, I can't sing," Kion said, scrolling through the songs on a tablet, and thinking he would die from embarrassment if he tried singing. "Retsuko, why don't you try something?"

He handed the microphone to the red panda, who then typed '9091-89' in on the tablet.

She took a deep breath as the music began to build, before screaming out as loud as she could into the mic.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Kion and Jasiri covered their ears, while Haida just stared wide-eyed at the red panda. Kion worried that the glasses with their drinks would shatter. Jasiri tried to say something to her mate, but the lion could only see her lips moving.

Meanwhile, Haida just continued to watch his red panda as she belted out frustration in her favorite song.

000

While Heroes was taking a well-deserved break after their victory in North Korea, their counterparts had done something much sinister. They had just eliminated one of the powerful individuals who had afforded them their prominent positions in the Chinese military, meaning now they were sovereign figures. They no longer had to listen to the plans and demands of the meterex leader who had found them, and the person they had just killed.

The battle wasn't even that tough, they severely outnumbered their enemy, who was in a weakened state. It was almost too easy filling him with holes and driving swords through his body. Now they were heading back to their ship, where they could plan the next phase of their operations.

"What kind of name is 'Dark Oak?'" Toothdee's counterpart laughed, her comment almost a way of spitting on the grave of the meterex they had slaughtered a few minutes prior.

"You mean what kind of name was 'Dark Oak" Alex's counterpart said, "he and his meterex failed to conquer this world once before, but we will succeed where they failed."

"You know I have to say that's a nice addition to your arsenal," Dark Eris said, pointing to Alex's wrist.

"Thank you," the dark warrior said, looking at his wrist, which was clad in a black gauntlet with an integrated grappling hook. The hook allowed him to pull enemies or objects in from afar, quickly bringing them within striking distance. It was also capable of pulling panels off walls and tearing apart objects.

Arriving back at the Black Typhoon, the group made their way into the command room after stashing their weapons in the armory.

"Toothdee, get me a status report," Dark Alex said, to which his friend obliged, lighting the room up with screens displaying information.

"North Korea is lost." Dark Toothdee said, looking over some screens "but this is only a small victory for the United States."

"Are our tactics working?"

"Yes, with no real front line, and no defined separation of territory, we will keep the US on their toes. Guessing where we're gonna attack next, and eventually wearing them down. We are still able to get our troops to most positions in the Pacific, and strike at places the United States won't expect."

"However we do have to acknowledge that they are on our doorstep now, are our defenses ready?"

"Our defenses are ready to hold back any assault, and reports suggest the US won't attack won't attack. In fact, bombing campaigns and ground-based incursions have led them to pull back somewhat, meaning a large area of North Korea is without a military presence. And the US has taken in many civilians, meaning there are fewer people in general."

"Perfect looks like they failed at establishing a beachhead close too China, but we should still be on guard for attacks from North Korea. However, it's time to strike back at the United States. Laval, is your fleet ready?"

The lion stepped forward and spoke. "Yes, the new vessels have been seamlessly integrated into our battle formations, we're ready to get back out there."

"Kion? Are your teams ready?"

The other lion began his explanation "Our gear is ready & the plan is set, all that's left is to put it into action"

"Brilliant, I say we couldn't have picked a better time for a war" Dark Alex said "the political, economic, and military climate was perfect"

"Tensions have been growing between the nations for a while now, it was obviously going to erupt in war," Dark Toothdee said, swiping through some data pages on a tablet. "Growing tension as China expands is territory & grows its military. Not to mention the US leading more towards a policy of isolationism, as China strives forward in terms of its economy, & its environmental protection efforts."

The dark warrior paused & looked out a nearby window as he collected his thoughts.

"The time when the United States is the world's dominant power is at an end. A new era is emerging. You have your orders, go forth and enact our will!"

The dark characters filed out of the room, ready to enforce their machinations upon the United States & Heroes.

"Let's show the world what we can really do."

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 **Hopefully, everyone liked that forboding scene at the end! A nice peek into the mind of the enemy. This update was a pain to post for some reason as well. But this was a nice, slower paced chapter, but next time there will be more action for all you thrill seekers! Please leave a review and have a great day!**


	13. Chapter 13: Northern Storm

**Hi there! I'm sorry for making you guys wait a while for the next chapter of this story. I was waiting for some progress to be made on artwork for this chapter and a few subsequent chapters, hence the delay. But now I think that I'm able to get back to a regular posting schedule. Any art that is not done yet should be done by the time it needs to be posted. For those of you wanting to see the artwork you will have to go to my tumblr, just search "Alex Final Wars 2" and it will probably come up. Now I won't keep you waiting any longer, let's go!**

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US forces attempting to secure the North Pacific were being battered and decimated. A Chinese fleet was roaming around, attacking any US warship that they could find, even attacking a few civilian vessels. This fleet was partly made up of vessels the Chinese had taken from North Korea after its defeat, and this Armada was dangerously close to Alaska. The last transmission from a destroyed US vessel seemed to indicate that Laval's dark counterpart was commanding this fleet. It made sense, seeing as Laval was a very good tactician and warrior, it could be assumed the same was true for his dark double. But it was up to Heroes to make sure this fleet didn't get any closer to US soil and make sure Dark Laval didn't cause any more damage.

The typhoon was patrolling with a fleet of friendly ships, including an aircraft carrier and many escort vessels. But there was also a new kind of ship in the US fleet, one that impressed Alex and Toothdee when they saw it. A modern day airship, made out of hardened steel and propelled by massive engines. This was not like the zeppelins used in WW1, this vessel was covered in heavy armor and armed with cannons, missiles, and other weapons. The shape of the airship consisted of a long metal frame with heavy guns and thin protrusions on the front, along with large engines at the rear to provide forward momentum. 4 box shaped extensions on the sides of the vessel provided vertical thrust, supplemented by additional smaller thrusters and another large thruster in the center of the ship near the bow.

Towards the back of the ship was a conning tower that stuck upwards, and it was from here that the ship was controlled. Below the tower was a thick, long downwards protrusion that served as a cargo and vehicle bay, while presumably also allowing the ship to land. An American flag and the phrase 'USAF' were printed on the side of the vessel.

More than likely the airship was made with recovered meterex technology, as the robot faction was known for ample use of flying vessels.

It was truly a quantum leap forward in technology and tools of warfare, and it would surely become the norm as time progressed. Finally, there was a vessel that could keep pace with the typhoon.

US satellites have been scanning for the enemy armada, but now the Typhoon's fleet had detected Chinese vessels on radar & was steaming ahead to meet the enemy armada that had been tearing apart the North Pacific.

"Kion, Jasiri" Toothdee said, "are you ready to engage?"

"We're ready!" Kion & Jasiri responded hands already on the controls to aim & fire.

The lion & hyena pair were sat in gunner seats ready to fire the canons & other weapons of the typhoon. The weapons systems were fairly simple to operate, with the controls being straightforward. First, the user selected the weapon they wished to fire, then they just used the levers to rotate & move the weapon before firing. The high definition screen displayed a reticle & allowed for easy aiming & targeting.

"Kinetic armor is ready, ammo is loaded, & aircraft are fueled up in case we need them," Toothdee said, sitting down in a chair on the bridge.

"Thank you Toothdee," Alex said

"Boarding equipment is ready" Laval reported as he & Eris entered the bridge.

"Are you sure your ok to take on your counterpart?"

Laval sighed. "I'm worried. I'm gonna be facing someone that's my equal in skill & maybe better than me. I'm smart enough not to be blindly confident, but I'm just nervous now."

Eris patted the lion on the back and comforted him. "You're not alone, we're gonna be facing your counterpart together, we can beat him."

"Thank you Eris," Laval said feeling better, knowing he was with the one he loved. "I can always count on you."

"He'll be fine," Eris informed Alex "We're ready for tasking."

"Good, stay calm & man your battle stations."

The two then quickly left the bridge & headed to the hanger bay so they could get in Eris's eagle interceptor.

Haida came on over the intercom & reported that the rest of the US fleet was battle ready.

"These signatures look weird," Toothdee noted, examining a radar display of the enemy fleet.

"How so?" Jasiri inquired.

"Maybe our sensors are on the fritz. This data just doesn't match up. Shame I couldn't get a satellite view due to the cloud cover."

"Hostile ships coming within visual range!" Jack said, looking through a pair of binoculars.

Toothdee used the console to raise the armor panels over the bridge window, before projecting a zoomed in image of the Chinese fleet onto the panels.

"Do those ships look kinda strange?" Skye said, pointing to 2 vessels at the head of the fleet.

The vessels continued to advance, allowing viewing of more of their bows. The main towers of other ships began to appear over the horizon.

"That bow doesn't look right," Kion said, noting the strange vessels didn't have a pointed prow but appeared to have many protrusions instead.

Then the background sky appeared below the enemy vessels as they advanced. Everyone on the bridge looked at each other or rubbed their eyes to make sure what they were seeing was real. 2 of the enemy ships were completely surrounded by the sky in the distance, with the waterline below far below them.

"Are those... airships?" Kion asked, "like ours?"

"I think they are." Alex said "but... I don't know how."

"I don't believe it," Toothdee said, wide-eyed. "the radar signatures I was looking at earlier were strikingly similar to the signature of the friendly airship in our fleet. But I thought I was mistaken, and that there was no way the Chinese could have their own airships"

"Hmmm... there was a lot of meterex technology scattered about after the meterex war," Alex said.

"Maybe they somehow got their hands on some of it." Toothdee said, following Alex's thought. "despite the US trying to recover all meterex technology."

"Guess that explains how they could have built their warships. Or maybe we have a spy somewhere."

"I'll tell Haida & Retsuko to send a report to high command about a possible spy. Those warships look very similar to ours, despite some superficial changes. Though if we get a good look at the wreckage I could tell you what other differences there are."

"We'll try & leave something for you to sort through," Kion said as the image on the panels zoomed out & combat alarms blared.

"Launch aircraft!" Toothdee said, before Eris's jet launched out of the hanger bay & joined a group of US jets.

"Alright, the typhoon & our friendly airship will engage those 2 hostile airships. The rest of our fleet will engage the rest of the hostile fleet."

"Aircraft carrier sighted!" Toothdee said as the typhoon steamed ahead. "I'm betting it's the command ship."

"Alright, once we disable it we'll board the vessel & put an end to Laval's counterpart."

The captain turned on the ship-wide intercom to communicate with everyone who was manning the guns. "WEAPONS FREE!"

The Typhoon's weapons opened fire, bombarding one of the Chinese airships. The other Chinese airship was engaging the US airship, while the typhoon spun around and dealt damage to the enemy airship's engines. However, the hostile ship was firing back, targeting the typhoon's weapon systems.

Kion's screen changed to a missile battery as the cannon he was operating was destroyed. Toothdee reported that there was no serious damage, while the US & Chinese fleets continued to battle it out in the sea below.

The typhoon & Chinese airship were circling each other, engaging with weapons. Alex directed the typhoon downwards & flew under the enemy vessel before bombarding its other side.

"Looks like it's breaking up," Toothdee said as explosions ripped through the enemy airship & it began to plummet downwards before crushing a Chinese ship that was underneath it.

The typhoon then joined the US airship in engaging the second enemy airship. Under combined firepower, the airship broke apart and was destroyed.

Toothdee directed the US airship & Eris's squadron to engage the enemy aircraft carrier along with the typhoon. The ship broadsided the carrier and engaged with everything it had, missiles, cannons, & machine guns. The deck was lit up and the fighter craft onboard were destroyed. Other US vessels kept the enemy fleet occupied and allowed the attack on the carrier to take place.

"The carrier has received enough damage to render it immobile!" Toothdee reported. "If your gonna board, do it now."

"Toothdee you have the conn," Alex said, getting up from the captain's chair and racing down to The hanger bay where he could grab his gear. The boarding equipment was ready in an exit room on the port side of the typhoon.

The captain directed JayJay to meet him in the exit room, and for additional forces to join the pair on the deck of the carrier. Toothdee brought the typhoon alongside the immobile Chinese carrier just as Alex reached the exit room, where JayJay & a mounted harpoon launcher were already waiting. The captain aimed the launcher at the deck of the carrier before firing. The harpoon embedded itself in the deck, providing a stable zip-line to the carrier.

"Are you sure about this Alex?" JayJay asked while the captain made sure the line was secure.

"Have you been zip-lining before?"

"Once, but that was with a safety harness."

Alex clipped 2 trolleys onto the line.

"Just hang on tight. See this safety loop? It won't let you go if your hanging, once you get on stable ground, you'll be able to lift your hand out of the loop."

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Perfectly safe. Even if it wasn't, we're over water, not hard rock."

The wolf still looked nervous.

"Deep breaths," Alex said, guiding her through some short breathing exercises. "You could stay on the typhoon if you want."

"No... I'm fine."

The pair grabbed hold of the trolleys, & Alex gently pulled JayJay closer to the edge of the typhoon, before stepping over the edge & zip lining towards the carrier.

JayJay kept her eyes closed for the most part, while Alex drew his pistol & gunned down a Chinese soldier on the deck.

The pair reached the deck of the carrier, & the captain made sure JayJay was alright.

"That was adrenaline pumping." The wolf laughed.

"Are you ready to do battle now?"

The wolf drew her 1911 & engaged some Chinese crewmen on the deck, while Alex disconnected the zip line so the typhoon could move away.

Kion used a machine gun battery on the typhoon to help clear the carrier deck of hostiles, while a pair of US helicopters landed onboard and dropped off teams of soldiers. Eris's jet also hovered above the deck, allowing Laval to jump out of the cockpit & join his friends.

"Mind if I join you?" The lion said as he pushed forward with friendly forces.

"The more the merrier," Alex said, gunning down 2 Chinese soldiers. "Let's push to the bridge."

A Chinese attack helicopter hovered above the deck & opened fire with its guns, forcing the team into cover. A US jet raced overhead and hit the helicopter with missiles, making it crash into the deck.

The group continued to move forward, destroying all the Chinese soldiers desperately defending the carrier.

An escort vessel next to the carrier was engulfed in flames & spewing smoke as it sustained critical damage. The ship exploded, causing debris to fly across the deck of the carrier & knocking US forces off their feet.

"Everybody ok?" JayJay asked.

"I'm fine," Laval said, getting back up.

"Head for the conning tower, that's more than likely where Laval's counterpart is."

The team climbed the ladders & walkways up to the bridge as the battle continued to rage in the sea around the ship. Suddenly a Chinese soldier burst out of a bulkhead door on the tower & swung at JayJay with a knife. The wolf used her agility to dodge his slashes, before kicking him through a damaged part of the walkway railing. The soldier fell to the deck below & the team continued.

"The door is sealed," Laval said, trying to enter the bridge. Alex gestured the team & some US soldiers to move towards the bridge windows. The Chinese soldiers inside spotted them & readied themselves for combat as soldiers placed small charges on the bridge windows.

"I've got the ones on the left," Alex said, checking his ammo while the Chinese kept their weapons trained on the windows.

"I'll get the ones around the helm," JayJay said drawing her machine pistol.

"I'll deflect their incoming shots," Laval said.

"3, 2, 1, NOW!"

The charges detonated & shattered the glass, allowing the team & US soldiers to fire into the bridge, killing the hostiles inside.

"The bridge is clear!" A soldier said as the team jumped through the windows into the bridge.

"I don't see my counterpart," Laval said, looking around.

"First let's get some intelligence," Alex said, plugging a thumb drive into a nearby console. The device would automatically download all files, then plant viruses into the system to destroy the intelligence in the network.

Laval paced around the bridge, wanting to find his counterpart & stop the damage he was doing. However deep down he still had a feeling of dread about facing an enemy that might be more powerful than him. But, he did take some solace in knowing that he had Alex & JayJay alongside him.

The ship's intercom buzzed to life & the voice of Laval's counterpart sounded throughout the ship.

"All soldiers! Don't surrender! We're massing in the cargo bay! Everyone join us & prepare to retake this ship!"

"Guess we know where Laval's counterpart is," JayJay said as an automated Chinese voice came on over the intercom, probably to repeat Dark Laval's orders, as he had said them in English. More than likely he had been taunting Heroes to come find him.

Laval took a deep breath. "Let's go."

"We've got the data," Alex said, removing the thumb drive. "Now we just have to find out where the cargo bay is."

The captain looked through some of the cabinets on the bridge & found a map plan for the ship. Luckily the camera on his goggles coupled with the computer in his wrist allowed the Chinese characters to be easily translated to English & displayed on his HUD.

"Follow me," Alex said, taking point & heading into the ship, glancing to the map frequently. The group came across a squad of Chinese soldiers heading to the cargo bay, but with the element of surprise, they quickly began dispatching the squad.

As they battled, a Chinese military dog barked and ran towards Alex before biting him on the knee, making the captain yell in pain. Drawing his sidearm, Alex shot the dog and managed to kick it off him while his allies dealt with the other hostiles.

The team continued making headway through the ship, cutting down Chinese soldiers as they made haste for the cargo bay. In the close confines of the ship, swords were extremely useful, as well as JayJay's machine pistol. With a path cut through the corridors of the ship, the team prepared to breach the cargo bay.

"Everyone ready for this?" Alex asked, checking his ammo.

JayJay nodded while Laval took another breath and prepared himself. Kicking through the doors, the team was met with Dark Laval & a large group of Chinese soldiers.

"I knew you would show up." The lion said, pointing to the team. "Prepare to die!"

Taking cover behind cargo boxes, the team was bombarded by shots from hostile soldiers.

Using grenades, Alex cleared the way, & they pushed forward into the cargo bay, which appeared to be heavily damaged by the attack on the ship. Parts of the bay were on fire, & sections of wall panels had come off, exposing wiring & pipes. Water was leaking on the floor, & some wires had fallen from the ceiling onto the floor.

More Chinese soldiers entered the bay & opened fire. JayJay shot an electrical panel, causing electricity to shoot out and electrify Chinese soldiers nearby that were standing in a puddle of water. Laval's counterpart continued to watch the battle as the team kept dispatching enemy soldiers. Alex & Laval used their blades to cut through another incoming squad, and soon it was just Dark Laval & 2 Chinese soldiers left standing.

These enemy soldiers were armed with swords & better armor, with Alex assuming they were elite guards of some sort.

Laval's counterpart drew his sword & the center glowed red with evil chi power, with 2 elite guards also drawing their weapons. Dark Laval quickly engaged his nicer counterpart, while one of the elite guards swung his blade at Alex. JayJay dodged the sword strikes from the other elite guard while firing at him with her weapons. However, the guard deflected her shots or evaded them.

Alex continued fighting his elite guard, who used his agility to dodge the captain's attacks. Any strike he did land didn't do much damage because of the guard's armor.

JayJay's pistol was knocked out of her hand by the elite guard she was fighting, but with an expertly timed kick, she did the same with the guard's sword. Then it was a strict hand to paw battle between the two.

The 2 lions in the room were battling with extreme ferocity. Sparks flew as the weapons clashed together. But Dark Laval was clearly gaining the advantage, forcing Laval to be on the defensive.

JayJay dodged some more strikes from the elite guard she was facing, before jumping behind a pile of cargo boxes. The guard searched for the wolf, but she had already disappeared from his view. JayJay was, in reality, hiding atop a group of metal containers, and she pushed a heavy metal container onto the guard, knocking him out.

Alex was slowly wearing down his opponent, landing more strikes on the elite guard. The pair got into a sword lock, & the captain used this opportunity to take on hand off his sword, draw his pistol, and shoot the guard in the stomach, killing him.

Laval had been knocked to the ground by his opponent, & was now crawling backward while defending himself with his sword. However, the dark lion managed to disarm Laval, sending his sword flying across the room. The lion continued to crawl backward, moving out of a puddle of seawater on the floor as his opponent advanced through the puddle. Thinking quick, Laval grabbed one of the wires that had fallen from the ceiling & held it up in front of his face as Dark Laval brought his sword down for a powerful strike. Hitting and penetrating the wire, the evil lion was immediately electrocuted, stuck in a frozen position as electricity coursed through him. The loud buzzing of electricity could be heard as the lion convulsed & his fur charred.

The buzzing went silent, & Laval's counterpart fell over onto the floor, dead.

"You alright?" JayJay asked as Laval picked himself up.

"For a minute I thought that would be the end," Laval said, pausing before speaking again. "But... I'm still here now."

"We got him," Alex said, patting his friend on the back.

The team didn't have time to celebrate though, as the metal of the ship moaned and buckled.

"We're sinking!" JayJay yelled in distress.

"Let's get out of here!" The captain said before the team raced out of the cargo bay. Pipes burst, spraying water all over the trio that was racing back to the ship's bridge.

"This is the away team, we need an evac!" Alex said into his radio.

"The Chinese fleet is falling back, we'll come and get you," Toothdee responded.

The vessel tipped, & the team had to steady themselves against one of the ship's walls as they continued forward. When they reached a stairwell, water rapidly began to rise from the bottom while the team climbed over some rubble that was blocking the stairwell.

"We're gonna die here!" JayJay said, her voice filled with worry.

"Stay calm!" Alex said as they got through the rubble and made it to the ship's deck.

The typhoon was hovering down at one end of the carrier, with its side door open. Unfortunately, the Chinese warship was tipping as it sank. Chinese personnel were abandoning ship and leaping into the ocean.

The team raced for safety as objects and aircraft on the deck began to slide off into the sea.

"Watch out!" Laval said, stopping as a damaged helicopter with its blades still spinning skidded across the deck in front of him.

A Chinese soldier attempting to fire on the team was crushed by a sliding piece of equipment as the group kept moving.

"Jump for it!" JayJay yelled as the team leaped off the deck of the sinking ship and landed safely inside the typhoon. The trio turned & watched the aircraft carrier sink beneath the waves, along with Laval's counterpart.

The wreckage of warships, aircraft & smaller vessels littered the water. Luckily both US airships had survived with minimal damage. Alex spotted the remaining Chinese vessels escaping through an intense storm, the outline of the ships slowly being obscured by clouds & rain.

The fleet had not been completely wiped out, but they would never recover from such a devastating loss.

000

In the typhoon's war room, everyone had been assembled for debriefing & discussion about their next moves. Toothdee was currently explaining that they would be pursuing the remaining vessels, but the encroaching storm had forced them to halt the pursuit for the time being.

"We cannot tell precisely where the fleet is heading, due to the storm," Toothdee said. "But we assume it's northern Alaska."

"I'll prep the cold weather gear," Alex said, raising his hand.

"But, today was a victory for us, we finally defeated one of our counterparts, this is a big step to winning this war."

"I'm just glad I was able to beat him," Laval said. "That was one of the toughest fights I've ever been in."

"Here, why don't you do the honors." Captain Boehm said, tossing the lion a red marker. "This is your victory."

In the room was a large board with pictures of all the dark heroes on it, along with various notes about each villain. The red-maned lion walked over to the board & put a red X through his counterpart's picture.

"1 down, 8 to go."

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 **Whenever I post these chapters on Tumblr ill look at the post and it seems like Tumblr has removed the line spacing I've put in. But then ill look at the same post on another device and see the line spacing included. I don't know, it's very bizarre. Tumblr is weird.**


	14. Chapter 14: The Remanent Fleet

**Despite Finals happening this week, I have found enough time to post another exciting chapter! As always I hope everyone is doing well, and if your studying for finals as I am, keep it up!**

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The storm was still battering the US fleet, forcing the team to wait for the weather to clear before they could finish off the rest of the Chinese armada. Nick & Judy were spending their time watching a movie in their cabin while cuddling & munching on popcorn. The bunny loved petting Nick's soft tail, & spent most of the time looking at Nick.

"Come on carrots, your missing the movie. I'm not gonna constantly rewind it."

"But Nick, I want to cuddle with you! Also, can you rewind it, I missed that last scene."

"Somebunny can't stay away from her fox."

The rabbit rested her head on his chest and tried to fall asleep, but Nick kept teasing her & keeping her awake.

"Oh, let me sleep," Judy said.

"I will, for a few kisses."

The rabbit sat up and cupped her mate's muzzle before leaning in.

"Attention all personnel," Toothdee said through the intercom "the storm is weakening, we'll be engaging the Chinese fleet soon."

The couple groaned at their moment being interrupted, & realized they should probably go prepare their gear.

"Eh... the war can wait," Judy said, kissing her fox.

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"We haven't intercepted any radio traffic from the Chinese," Toothdee said, steering the typhoon over an inland ocean channel that was filled with ice. "Maybe the snow or the cold is wreaking havoc with their instruments."

The storm had partially cleared, but the snow was still falling & the sky was still obscured by dark clouds.

"Well, we're ready should there be any Chinese resistance," Alex said, him & JayJay sitting at gunner positions.

"Uh... I'm not sure I know how to operate this." The wolf said, looking over the controls while Toothdee facepalmed.

"It's easy JayJay, think of it as a game. Just select your viewpoint & use the controls to aim & fire. I've taught you this a hundred times."

"Well, it's nerve-wracking doing it for real."

Alex stood up & walked over to the wolf's control panel & began walking her through the operating process again, encouraging her with gentle words & pats on the shoulder.

"Hostile warship sighted!" Toothdee yelled, seeing the stern of a Chinese ship come into view through the falling snow. Alex raced back to his gunnery position and opened fire.

Shells & cannon fire began hitting the Chinese warship, but the fire from the typhoon soon stopped as the crew noticed something was off about this Chinese ship. It had been wrecked, crashed upon the frozen shore of the channel. The whole vessel was tipped slightly, and there was no sign of occupation.

Eris, Kion, & Jack entered the bridge and took in the view of the derelict ship.

"What happened to it?" Kion asked.

"It might have been wrecked from the storm," Eris suggested

"Uh, guys?" JayJay spoke up.

Everyone turned to the wolf, who was pointing forward out the bridge window.

Looking up, the team saw more Chinese warships from the remanent fleet, some caught in thick ice, others simply sitting idle. A few had been docked at what appeared to be an abandoned structure nearby.

"What happened to them all?" Jack asked as the typhoon passed by one of the stranded ships.

"I guess the storm hit them pretty hard." Toothdee said, "looks like they attempted to go ashore."

"What's that building anyway?" Eris said.

"Must be some old outpost, it's made of wood so maybe it's from the 1800s or early 1900s."

"2 of those ships are still moving!" Kion said, spotting active vessels.

"Battle stations!" Alex yelled, prompting Eris, Jack, & Kion to jump into combat positions.

One of the warships opened fire, it's cannons striking the side of the typhoon. The Hero ship returned fire while moving to cover behind an abandoned Chinese vessel. Managing to get into a favorable position, the typhoon blasted one of the warships and dealt heavy damage. As the hostile ship turned to face the typhoon, it was struck by missiles and shells, causing critical damage and making it crash into the nearby shoreline.

A few small fast attack craft joined the battle, firing at the typhoon alongside the larger warship. The typhoon moved away from the Chinese ship, passing through a narrow corridor between an icy cliff & a derelict vessel.

"Target that cliff face!" Alex said as the enemy ship approached through the corridor. With sustained fire, the ice, snow, and rock on the cliff cascaded downwards onto the Chinese ship, pinning it against the other derelict ship. The avalanche even managed to take out a couple of the smaller craft.

"Light them up," Toothdee ordered, the typhoon opening fire with all weapon systems. The Chinese warship broke apart and burst into flames. The presence of fire from the destroyed ships was a welcome sight in a landscape full of snow and ice.

The remaining craft withdrew, and the typhoon even managed to shoot a few down as they tried to retreat.

"See JayJay, was that so bad?" Alex said.

"No, it wasn't as bad as I thought." The wolf admitted.

"What's the plan?" Jack asked.

"Toothdee, take us in for a ground expedition." The captain said, to which Toothdee obliged, maneuvering the ship near the shore and setting it down. "Kion, go get Jasiri and have both of you suit up cold weather gear. Toothdee, prepare for an excursion. JayJay, you're in charge till we get back, Eris, Jack, keep a look out for hostile activity."

Everyone nodded in agreement and went about performing their duties. The typhoon, and Heroes in general, was run like a well-oiled machine with people working together to accomplish a task. While at the same time maintaining a good relationship that served to strengthen the group.

The 4 squad members got ready to go ashore and destroy the remanent fleet once and for all.

000

For missions in cold climate, the kit for Heroes operatives differed from the normal kit. Gear and uniforms were colored with arctic camouflage, extra rations and equipment to start fires were packed into survival kits. Whoever was going out donned a heavy coat to keep warm, especially Alex, as humans lacked thick fur to retain heat. Snow goggles and masks covered their faces, and the team was ready for a battle in sub-zero temperatures.

Toothdee's garb didn't change much from her normal attire, as her species was capable of surviving in ice-cold environments.

Once the squad was ready, they set off through the forest, following tracks in the snow, along with using an intercepted Chinese radio call to guide them. Gunfire was also piercing the air, but the team was unable to figure out what the Chinese would be firing at.

"Toothdee, are you sure your comfortable?" Kion inquired, noting her lack of thick protective clothing."

"I'm fine." She assured him, "I don't even feel cold."

Kion shrugged and turned to Jasiri "what about you? Are you warm enough sweetie?"

"My nose is cold but other than that I'm fine." The hyena said, the group continuing to trudge through the deep snow.

Kion pulled down his facial mask and gave the hyena a kiss on the nose, causing her to laugh. But the sound of laughter was interrupted by yelling in a foreign language.

"Hostile soldiers!" Toothdee said, the team getting ready for combat as a small group of Chinese infantry burst out of the nearby tree line, frantically running and looking behind them.

Thinking they were being ambushed, the group of heroes instinctively opened fire, downing the Chinese soldiers. The hostiles didn't even get to fire a shot.

"Whew, better luck on your next ambush guys," Kion said

"Did you just trash talk dead bodies?" Jasiri inquired.

"You know it didn't exactly seem like they were ambushing us." Toothdee said, "We fired at them out of instinct, but they were running from something."

"Yeah, look at this guy, he only had his combat knife," Alex said, examining the dead soldiers.

"What could have scared them? And more importantly, is it still here?" Kion asked, taking a look deep into the trees.

Jasiri proposed a theory.

"Maybe they mutinied or something, they could have been fed up with being lead up into this fringed environment."

"In any case," Alex said, "this should help us avoid any more surprises."

The captain took out a small device that looked like a fat smartphone with a screen on one side. Turning it on, he aimed the device at his squad mates to verify that it worked, before attaching it to a tactical rail on the side of his gun.

"What's that?" Kion asked, looking over the blue screen.

"Heartbeat sensor," Alex responded, "It should detect any hostiles in the area."

He aimed his weapon into the forest. A couple of red dots appeared on the screen.

"That's 6 hostiles."

One of the dots completely disappeared, indicating the individual had expired.

"Wait, now there's 5."

"Are they killing each other?" Jasiri wondered as the Heroes team watched the screen.

2 more dots disappeared, and the remaining 3 dots grew weaker and weaker until disappearing.

"So... they're all dead now?" Kion said, hoping he could get his hands on a heartbeat sensor at some point."

"No," captain Boehm said, looking towards the trees. "Did you notice how 3 of those dots got weaker instead of completely disappearing instantly? That means those individuals are still alive, but they've moved beyond the operational range of this device."

"Let's go see what's happening," Toothdee said, setting off into the forest with the other 3 behind her.

After traveling a short distance through the snow, the group came to a small clearing where the bodies of fallen Chinese soldiers were lying. Weapons and equipment were strewn about the area, and a few military working dogs the Chinese had been using also lay fallen in the cold snow.

"What happened to them?" Jasiri asked as the group examined the remains.

"Wild animal attack?" Kion hypothesized "there are wild wolves up here right?"

"These injuries aren't consistent with wild animal attacks." Alex said, looking at a body, "these marks don't look like they're from claws and teeth, but instead from... melee weapons."

"Who lives up here and has melee weapons?" Kion said, a quizzical look on his face.

"Plus if these were wild animals they would have stayed and eaten their fill." Jasiri said, before muttering "disgusting" under her breath.

"It wouldn't hurt to see if there were wolves out here though." Alex said, standing up "it would be one less thing to worry about or one more thing to be aware of."

The captain turned on his radio.

"JayJay, do you read me?"

"Hey, Alex."

"This might seem like an odd request, but we want to know if there are any wild wolves in the area. So you think you could try howling?"

After a pause, JayJay responded.

"Uh... ok. I don't want to start a howl though. Just hang on a sec."

The radio call shut down briefly while JayJay headed out onto the deck of the typhoon to complete her task.

A long howl pierced the air for a few seconds, it's sound stretching across the snowy landscape. Any wild wolves in the area would certainly hear it and respond with howls of their own.

"Sounds pretty," Alex said to himself as the world grew quiet again. The silence remained for a few seconds as everyone waited for a return howl.

"Nothing," JayJay said "there's no one out here."

"Understood, thank you JayJay."

"Anytime Alex."

"Well, we're still a ways from that intercepted radio call," toothdee said, "let's get going."

As they walked the team continued to discuss exactly what happened to those Chinese soldiers.

"So if it wasn't wild wolves, maybe it was a wild mountain lion?" Kion hypothesized.

"No, the injuries are not consistent with a wild animal attack," Toothdee said before Alex's heartbeat sensor began to display some signatures. Slowly moving forward, the team came across a small group of Chinese soldiers, unaware of their presence. A military dog barked at where the group was hiding, but his handler held the dog back and assumed he was barking at a wild squirrel or another animal.

An opening volley of grenades took out a few of the soldiers, and bursts of gunfire from toothdee and Jasiri downed even more. Alex and Kion raced forward and finished off the last few soldiers with their blades.

As the team was getting ready to move on Alex noticed some odd footprints in the snow. The rest of the group came over and examined the tracks, which definitely didn't belong to any Chinese soldiers.

"Wait a sec." toothdee said, planting her foot in the snow next to one of the tracks, leaving a footprint of her own. After she removed her foot the team looked between Toothdee's impression in the snow, & the mystery tracks. The unknown tracks had a striking resemblance to Toothdee's footprints.

"Have you been here before or something?" Kion wondered.

"Did we get turned around?" Jasiri said, looking at her surroundings.

"If we got turned around then we would see lion, hyena, & human tracks as well," Alex said. As the team wondered why these strange impressions were here, and why they looked so similar to Toothdee's footprints, the heartbeat sensor lit up again.

"One signature," Alex said, as the team prepared themselves. "It's very close by."

The captain looked towards the trees where the signature would be, and he spotted a large figure with blue fur, looking back at him from a hiding place beneath some branch. For a second their eyes met, and the figure then raced off in a blue blur, causing branches to break and allowing the team to get a pretty good look at the figure.

"Whoa! Uh... I'm not the only one who saw that right?" Kion said.

"That guy... looked a lot like you Toothdee," Jasiri noted

Alex headed over and looked on the ground where the figure had been. More of the mystery track heading off in the direction the figure ran. The team preceded to follow the tracks, which also lead in the direction of the intercepted radio call.

"Uh... Toothdee?" Kion said, "what do you know about your species?"

"Not much, only what I see in myself." She responded. "I don't remember much of my early life, so I can't tell you anything really. I lived on my own for a while and then met Alex. People didn't really have a problem with me being kind of an oddball, and I got used to considering myself as the only known member of my species."

"That wouldn't be a weird thing." Alex said, "In Chima, there are a few people who are the only known members of their species."

"I think you won't be the only know member of your species after this mission," Kion said

A large concrete structure began to appear through the trees.

"What's this place?" Kion asked.

"Looks like something from the Cold War." Jasiri responded while Alex brushed some snow off one of the walls, revealing the words 'base 13'.

"Base 13?" Toothdee questioned.

"I think Jasiri is right." Captain Boehm said as the group headed inside through a metal door that was already open. "This does look like some sort of Cold War-era outpost. It would make sense because we're so close to Russia."

The base had cold concrete floors, walls, and ceilings, and there was even some snow inside the structure, presumably having blown in through cracks or open doors.

2 more signatures appeared on the heartbeat sensor, and the team found 2 Chinese soldiers who must have been standing guard. Quickly dispatching the pair, the group proceeded forward and came upon a large room filled with desks, and old computer equipment. A group of hostiles occupied the room, trying to get some sort of radio equipment working, probably to call for reinforcements.

The abundance of Cold War era computers and wooden desks scattered about the room enabled the team to slowly sneak forward unnoticed. Alex got behind a hostile soldier and stabbed him with his knife, bring the soldiers down. His teammates were doing the same, and the number of enemies in the room slowly dwindled.

Toothdee pulled a hostile soldier over a tipped over desk before dispatching him, while Kion and Jasiri performed a synchronized takedown on 2 enemies that were talking.

Only a few enemies left. The captain performed a dual takedown on another pair of Chinese soldiers. Slashing their legs and throats in quick unison so they didn't alert anyone.

The last 3 soldiers began to notice something was wrong, and they started looking around the room. But before they could do anything, they fell to the same blades that had killed the other soldiers in the room.

"Let's check the rest of the base." Toothdee said, "Make sure we got rid of everyone."

The team continued out of the room, heading towards a T junction in the hallway they were walking down. Suddenly a large group of enemy soldiers sprinted across the T junction and disappeared from sign just as quickly as they had appeared. Racing to follow them, the team turned at the T junction and followed the Chinese to a garage. The garage was filled with snow, as its main doors were open, and any gear in the room had been covered.

The team engaged the soldiers, forcing hostiles began to fall back out of the base as more and more troopers fell to the ground.

Heroes kept the pressure on and moved out of the garage onto a snow-covered road. On one side of the road was a sharp upwards cliff, on the other side, was a guardrail that protected drivers from a harrowing fall down another cliff. The team took cover behind a pile of rocks from an avalanche and continued to engage the Chinese.

Suddenly the hostile gunfire completely stopped, and the young heroes peaked out of cover to see why. The Chinese soldiers lay dead, blood turning the nearby snow red. The abrupt stop of gunfire was surprising, but what was more surprising was that spears and arrows were driven into the bodies of the enemy troopers. The hostile forces had been turned into pincushions, in only a few seconds.

The team looked up at the cliff above, and laid eyes upon their saviors. A group of creatures, creatures of Toothdee's species, stood at the top of the cliff. Their fur was varying shades of blue, and each individual creature was equipped with either a spear, a bow, or a melee weapon. Some even held old rifles that were partly made out of wood. Simple clothes adorned the bodies of the creatures, with some garments appearing old. Other individuals had clothes made out of wild animal pelts or were completely unclothed, their fur providing all the insulation they needed.

For a good 30 seconds, the Heroes team and the assembled group of creatures stared at each other, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. One of the creatures took a long look at Toothdee, probably judging her and determining his next course of action.

Eventually, the group of creatures turned around and walked away from the cliff, disappearing from view.

Toothdee was in disbelief, she had never seen another member of her species before.

"Well... I guess Kion was right." Jasiri said.

"You ok?" Alex asked his friend.

Shaking herself out of a daze, toothdee responded. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... I can't believe that just happened. I'm not the only member of my species."

"Do you want to... follow them or something?" Kion suggested, "Get to know members of your own species better?"

Toothdee thought for a moment, looking up at the cliff.

"No, my place is with Heroes." She said, "I'm gonna stay and help the US win this war."

Alex was grateful to hear that, Toothdee was an amazing warrior and tactician, and she had proved herself time and time again. The typhoon was her home, and she felt like she belonged there.

"Then let's go home, mission complete." The captain said before the group set off to return to the typhoon.

000

Having made their way back to the typhoon, the team, bar toothdee, needed to warm up after their expedition. Kion and Jasiri had retreated back to their room to crawl into bed and snuggle under a blanket. Alex had gone to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate, before heading to the typhoon's bridge and watching as toothdee piloted the ship towards a warmer climate. Toothdee had already recounted the report of their expedition to Laval, Judy, & Haida, who had joined her on the bridge.

"That's quite a story," Judy said, once the tale was complete.

"It does feel nice to know I'm not alone," Toothdee responded. "But of course you guys are my family, I don't need members of my own species to feel at home.

"We gotta think of a name for your race," Alex said, taking a sip of his hot cocoa.

"Like a scientific name or a colloquial name?"

"I'm not sure about a scientific name, but for the colloquial one, how about 'the Toothdee species."

"What? That's so uncreative." Laval said.

"It makes sense. In Star Wars there's a species called 'the Yoda species."

"Alright, fairs fair. But if I think of another name I'll let you know."

"Maybe we should just leave the naming up to the scientists."

Alex smiled and sat back in a seat, watching the snow fall as they left the wreckage of the Chinese fleet behind them.

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 **So what did you think of that ice cold chapter with firey combat and a burning mystery? Please leave a review and I'll see you all next time!**


	15. Chapter 15: Vacation in Chima

**Hello everyone! Sorry, it's been a while since the last update, but I've just kinda been being a bit lazy because it's summer. But I am trying my best to push myself to write more! This chapter I did have to kind of whip up quickly, after receiving some advice from my friends. Anyway, it's the words that are really important, and let's get to them!**

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The typhoon had been diverted back to Chima after receiving a report about a reemergence of Chinese forces in the region. The first place Heroes checked out was the base where they had first met the dark counterparts. However the base was deserted, and no tribe had claimed the structure as an outpost. Before leaving, Heroes made sure to destroy the base with explosives so that no faction, hostile or benign, could occupy it.

The team had voted to stay in Chima to get some rest and relaxation, as for the past few days they had been going through battle after battle. Many had left the typhoon to spend time in the beautiful nature of Chima, or to examine the culture of the many tribes that inhabited the land.

Captain Boehm has woken up early, as they would be assaulting the base at dawn, but because there was not a threat, his early awakening had been for nothing. He was tempted to go back to sleep, however, he knew that if he did then his sleep schedule would be messed up. So now Alex was going out and spending time in the beautiful landscape of Chima. The captain loved nature, it offered him time to think and be alone with his thoughts. Although he was fond of his friends and allies, time alone was special to him, and the captain spent most free time in his cabin alone.

Alex rode his speedor past old ruins and down dirt paths carved throughout the forest. At one point he accidentally strayed into the falling jungle and had to quickly accelerate to avoid being crushed by the falling trees. Thankfully he soon found a nice spot next to a gentle river and laid down on the soft moss covering the ground.

It was time for him to do some thinking about the current state of affairs. Although Heroes had been victorious in many engagements, the tides of war had not yet shifted in favor of the United States. The captain was still fearful of the destruction the dark heroes could wreak, and he wondered how many US soldiers had died by their hands. He didn't even want to think about the countless lives that had been lost during the war. The captain wondered how they would eliminate the rest of the dark counterparts, although they had taken out Dark Laval, he was still nervous. Hopefully, everyone in Heroes would emerge unscathed, but Alex was filled with anxiety about how the battles with the dark heroes would turn out.

Captain Boehm wanted nothing more than to see this horrible war be over, and the world once again returned to a time of relative peace. He would give everything for a world full of happiness, where people understood each other differences and got along fine. Of course, that was wishful thinking, and he would be out of a job if that was the case. But that was why he fought for peace, to make a world free of oppression and conflict.

The captain threw a few rocks into the river, and just wished the world could work itself out. There were times when his existence seemed bleak. But he took a deep breath and decided he should focus on the present, for what mattered now was defeating the Chinese. That would be his driving force in the coming battles. He remembered what he told JayJay, that they would stop at nothing to win the war.

As if on cue, a speedor pulled up with JayJay at the controls. She greeted the captain cheerfully and joined him in laying down on the bed of moss that covered the ground.

Alex felt better when he had her by his side. Having an ally calmed his nerves, and an ally meant another warrior to charge into combat with.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" JayJay asked

"Just doing some thinking, about this war and everything related to it."

"Like what? The tactics? The soldiers?"

"More so about my own place in this conflict. I'm driven by nothing except my desire to stop this war, I just want to put an end to all the abuses & sneaky tactics that China uses. I want to stop this war that's claimed so many lives."

"See, that's where you and I are alike Alex." The wolf said, patting her friend on the shoulder. "I want to do the same thing. All the oppression that's happening, I want to stop it."

"I just hope we can actually do it. China is a powerful enemy, and now they have our dark counterparts at their disposal."

The wolf sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. I know I put on a tough face, but deep down I am nervous about whether or not we can beat our enemy & emerge unscathed."

"Well, we beat Dark Laval and we're all fine. We've beat dozens of Chinese soldiers and we're fine."

"And you're worried? You have this confident attitude when you're talking to me, but you need to turn that attitude on yourself. Instead of boosting the morale of others, trying doing the same to yourself, you might feel better"

"I could try doing that, maybe it would help me stop worrying about the future."

"We don't know what future battles hold, but there's no reason to get worked up over something you don't know is gonna happen or not."

"Your right, thank you." The captain said, feeling newfound determination coursing through his veins. "And I know you're nervous about upcoming battles, but remember that I'm here to help whenever you need me. It helps to have an ally to go into combat with."

"Well, you do calm my nerves. Thanks for being there for me."

"No, thank you for being there for me."

The pair laughed and decided they should spend the day doing something more lighthearted. Climbing on their speedors, they drove off to find a beautiful natural monument to examine or a speedor track they could race on.

000

Although Jack and Skye had been all over the world on missions for the ZIA, Chima was one place they had never gone. The couple hadn't even read any database entries on the region, but now they were determined to increase their knowledge of Chima, and what better way to do that than experiencing the land firsthand.

Having borrowed a Jeep from the typhoon's vehicle bay, the two were getting ready to head out of the typhoon, but first Jack had something he wanted to do. The rabbit walked up to the fox he loved, with something hidden behind his back.

"Here Skye, I picked these for you."

He revealed what the hidden item was, a bouquet of flowers wrapped in some spare cloth that came from somewhere on the typhoon.

"Oh! Jack!" Skye said, quickly taking the gift & looking it over. The flowers were an array of colors, and they smelled heavenly. "Where did you get these?"

"When we landed I spotted a field of flowers nearby, and while you were in the shower earlier I went out and got these lovelies for you. There's no flower store around here, so I just improvised."

"I love it." The fox said, kissing her rabbit on the forehead.

"Glad you like it. So where are we heading?"

The pair climbed in the Jeep and Skye examined a map.

"Hmmm... it says here that the home of the beaver tribe is not far off. Let's go there"

The fox drove the vehicle out of the typhoon and through the forest, heading for the location on the map. Jack examined the Heroes database on his phone, in order to get more information about the tribe.

"It says here they are master craftsmen, and love to fix and build things"

The terrain was tougher than Jack and Skye expected, and the Jeep was getting jostled as it drove over rocks and logs.

"You know you could have taken the road," Jack said, holding on as the Jeep went over a small riverbed.

"I thought this thing could handle it!" Skye responded, trying to avoid hitting trees.

By the time they reached the home of the beaver tribe, the Jeep had sustained some damage, but it could be quickly remedied back at the typhoon. The fox and bunny examined the main tribe structure, which was a massive wooden building, enclosed by a wall of logs surrounding it.

The pair pulled up to the main gate and hopped out.

"Please tell me you can fix this damage," Jack said, looking at one of the tires, which had become loose.

"Of course, you doubt my skills as a mechanic?" Skye said smugly.

A beaver with dirty tan fur walked up to the two.

"Welcome! What brings you to the beaver tribe today?"

"Oh, we're just exploring," Skye said calmly "seeing what the tribes are like that inhabit Chima."

"Well most tribes do a lot of fighting, but we beavers like to build and repair." The beaver examined the Jeep. "I do see that your vehicle has sustained some damage. Would you like us to fix it?"

"Oh, sure! That would be great!" Jack said.

A group of beavers rushed over with tools, chanting the phrase 'fix it' They quickly went to work on the Jeep.

Jack and Skye walked off to let the beavers work, and to get a breath of fresh air.

"Toothdee wasn't kidding when she said this place was beautiful," Skye said.

"No, she wasn't, speaking of which, what do you think about everyone on the typhoon, you know besides Nick and Judy."

"Toothdee doesn't say much, but her actions speak louder than words."

"Yeah, she's not really one for a lot of conversation."

"JayJay is rather chatty, and Alex, well let's just say I think he would be a good fit for a ZIA agent."

"He definitely seems determined, as does everyone else. That's the reason we're all together, we are all determined to end this war. You and me to keep Zootopia safe, and I imagine the same is true for Nick & Judy."

"I think the desire to defeat those dark counterparts is also a driving force for toothdee. I think she might be a little nervous, she told me that she doesn't want Heroes to somehow become like their counterparts."

"Like that saying that goes, '...you live long enough to become a villain' ?"

"I think so, something like that."

"Well I guess we should be wary, to make sure these talented people don't get on the wrong side of the law"

"Yes, but enough about work. Let's just enjoy ourselves, we're in one of the most beautiful locations in the world."

"It's not as beautiful as you" Jack flirted.

"Oh Jack"

The pair leaned close and exchanged a loving kiss, before continuing on their way.

After their walk was done, the pair returned to the beaver tribe, where the beaver from earlier greeted them.

"Ah, your back! Good! We repaired all the damage to your vehicle, and made some modifications!"

Jack and Skye's jaws dropped as they looked at the Jeep. The vehicle now had wooden wings coming out of the side, along with a bunch of other unnecessary wooden pieces. Jack facepalmed and shook his head, hoping Skye would be able to undo all the modifications the beavers made.

000

Jasiri had opted to spend her time in the typhoon cargo bay, organizing the crates and vehicles stored inside the ship. However, despite having the cargo bay crane to help, it was still backbreaking work. It didn't help that the temperature controls for the cargo bay had malfunctioned in an earlier battle, making the room very hot and forcing Jasiri to wear a tank top and shorts.

The hyena moved a container full of perishable goods, which thankfully was build to keep the food inside fresh, and was unaffected by the increased temperature. The same could not be said for Jasiri though, sweat ran through her fur and her body ached. She sat down on the crate and breathed heavily, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Now there is a tired and thirsty hyena."

Jasiri turned to see Kion entering the cargo bay, offering her a bottle of coke-a-cola. The hyena graciously took the drink and quickly downed part of it, feeling the cool liquid running down her throat."

"Man, if you told me I was gonna be doing this when I joined Heroes, I might have not joined at all," Jasiri said, while Kion sat down next to her.

"Hey, don't get yourself down, Heroes is a great gig. There's never a dull moment, and you can feel good knowing that you're making the world safer."

"You sound like Judy. But I guess that's why we do what we do because we want to see a better planet."

"That's the spirit. Besides, we're good at what we do. How many battles have we won now? I've lost count."

"Yeah, your right about that. We get to help people, dive headfirst into the action, and get to know other skilled individuals."

"Now you're getting it. Doesn't this job make you feel proud." The Lion put his arm around the hyena he loved, not caring that she was sweaty.

Jasiri thought for a moment. "Ok, you're correct. It does feel really good to know that you're doing something right."

"Doesn't it, that's how I feel whenever we complete a mission."

"Running into combat would be more exciting than moving crates the cargo bay."

"Hey, this was a volunteer job. You did it because you wanted to help, which is the same thing you want to do when you run into battle."

"Wow, you are on a morale-boosting streak today. But on that note, I better get back to organizing this place." Jasiri said, standing up, and wincing as she rubbed her sore back.

"Now you know how I feel whenever you have me stock the shelves in the convenience store."

"Hey, you help a lot!" Jasiri said, playfully hitting him.

"Well, allow me to be of help here then."

The pair began to move the crate they had been sitting on, and Jasiri was glad to be working alongside her boyfriend, both in and out of battle.

000

Alex and JayJay had been going all over Chima, examining the landmarks and natural wonders on display. One such place they visited was an area known as the fangs, a landscape filled with dark rocks that were in the shape of sharp fangs. However now they were sitting on top of Spiral Mountain, a massive rock formation that looked like a giant screw drilled into the ground. Their eyes looked over the land of Chima that was stretched out in front of them, full of lush forests and untapped natural splendor.

"How can a mountain be this shape?" JayJay asked, feeling the stone beneath her.

"Beats me, Chima has been widely shaped by 2 events, both of which are known as the great illumination, so that probably has something to do with it. But you know what, I just remembered something. Give me a minute."

The captain reached into a compartment on his speedor & pulled out a knife that had a long blade that was white as snow, and a handle decorated with what looked like crystals. JayJay's eyes lit up upon seeing the knife

"A lion warrior gave this to me once, the blade is made from chimoralium, a mineral only found in Chima. I want you to have it."

"What?"

"Most of us heroes carry knives for both survival and combat purposes. You need one, and I'm not using this knife, so I figure you can put it to use."

Alex held out the knife and let JayJay take it from his hand.

She felt it in her hand, marveling at its beauty and fine craftsmanship. The blade and crystals seemed to glisten in the sun, and it felt really light.

"I love it, thank you," JayJay said, rewarding the captain with a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey, that tickles," Alex said, playfully pushing her away. A smug grin crossed the wolf's face and she tried to land another peck on him. However this time Alex was ready and managed to keep her back. After a few seconds, JayJay stopped her attack and the 2 laughed together.

"Did you enjoy getting out and seeing the beauty of Chima today?" Alex asked, hoping JayJay had a good time.

"Yes, plus I liked hanging out with you."

"Hey I'm always gonna be on the typhoon, take a look at Chima while we're here."

"There's so much nature in this place," JayJay said "even more than Zootopia"

"Well one thing I like about Zootopia is how it has so much nature in it for a city"

"It's a really beautiful city. I've lived there all my life, and yet still find new ways to marvel at it"

"The city also has a lot of species in it, and an interesting cast of characters, like yourself"

"Ha, thanks"

"I would say you are one of the only reasons I like the city so much."

"Oh stop it," JayJay said, blushing and playfully pushing Alex's shoulder.

Just as Alex was about to say something else, the sound of a distant explosion cut him off. The pair turned towards the sound to see a massive ball of fire erupting from a set of tall rock spires in the distance. Those spires were the home of the Eagle tribe, and now they were engulfed by thick black smoke.

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 **Oh! cliffhanger! I know someone who's gonna like that. But, that's another chapter in the bag, and I'll see you all for the next exciting update!**


	16. Chapter 16: Attack on Eagle Spire

**Hello! I hope everyone is having a good day and is happy! I've just been hanging out on my summer break. I probably could be doing more, and I should get to doing some other tasks. But let's get on with this chapter, shall we?**

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The second Alex and JayJay saw smoke and fire coming from the home of the Eagle tribe, their mindsets shifted from enjoying a nice day to preparing to enter combat. The report about a resurgence of Chinese presence may have been correct after all, and now they had to deal with the repercussions.

"Let's go," Alex said, turning to JayJay, who nodded in agreement. Both warriors were now only driven by their desire to stop the oppression inflicted by the Chinese, and the coming engagement would be another step to their overall goal of winning this war. The pair hopped on their speedorz and raced off towards the spires, while Alex contacted Toothdee.

"Toothdee do you read me?"

"I read you, Alex, are you seeing this?"

"Well, not right now," Alex said as he and Jay passed under some trees. "But I know what's going on"

"The typhoon is already in the air and is heading towards the spires. Where are you?"

"JayJay and I are on speedorz, heading for the spires. We'll get there soon"

"Well you better hurry before the spires are brought down"

000

When Alex and JayJay arrived at the base of the spires, chaos was erupting. The typhoon and eagle jets were doing battle with Chinese airships and aircraft, while infantry and vehicles battled it out on the ground.

"Alex, I'm sending some gear your way!" Toothdee said through the radio.

The typhoon launched out a small drop pod that embedded itself in the ground near Alex and JayJay. The pair raced over and opened the pod, revealing their weapons, armor, and gear. There was even a small bag of Fire chi that Alex grabbed. While the 2 grabbed their weapons, a group of lion tanks and infantry arrived nearby, with Laval driving one of the tanks.

"Alex! JayJay! What are we dealing with here?!" Laval yelled

"A lot of Chinese soldiers, that much I know," Alex said, donning his armor.

"We must drive them from Chima and save our eagle allies!" An elderly and gray-maned lion driving another tank said.

"Lagravis, good to see you again your majesty," Alex said, showing respect for Laval's dad and the king of the lion tribe.

"I'm glad your here to help us. I hope our tanks will be enough to punch through!"

"We have other forces already attacking from different sides, and breaking through! Let's get in there and find Eris! Oh, and you know, get rid of the Chinese" Laval said, accidentally letting his love for the eagle override his thinking.

"Yes! Let's get Eris!" Said a voice from a rhino tank, as the vehicle pulled up.

"Rogon?" Alex asked

"That's me!" The rhino said, "I'm gonna get in there and save my love, Eris!"

"How many times do I have to tell you," Laval said, facepalming "Eris and I are already a couple"

Rogon wasn't listing, and instead, he pressed a button in his vehicle, causing the catapult on the back to launch a rock at a few Chinese soldiers. Laval sighed while his father chuckled after hearing his son talk about the one he loved.

Alex and JayJay checked their weapons and prepared to enter the fray. Chinese forces had noticed the approaching enemies and began to fire on the tanks. One tank gunner was hit by a lucky shot and fell off his vehicle. Alex instantly climbed aboard to take control of the tank's main gun, while yelling orders to his teammates.

"Laval! Lagravis! Let's punch through those Chinese forces! JayJay! You and the infantry follow us! Stay behind the tanks, use them as cover!"

There were nods of acknowledgment as Alex told the lion tank driver to move forward. Using the rotary chi cannon, Alex gunned down some Chinese soldiers firing at the tank with rifles and rockets, before engaging and destroying a Chinese buggy racing by. Laval fired a volley of chi shots and missiles, decimating the Chinese forces in front of them. All the while JayJay and the infantry stuck behind the tanks, opening fire and dispatching any Chinese soldier that the tanks missed.

2 lightly armored Chinese vehicles opened fire on the tank, but Alex destroyed both with the cannon, and the tank drove over the smoldering wreckage of one of the vehicles. A hostile tank opened fire with its cannon, destroying a small lion vehicle. Laval fired out another volley of missiles, damaging the tank, and Alex finished it off with the chi cannon. The pair cheered with excitement at taking down the vehicle, as the opened fire on more hostile forces.

The tanks easily cut through the Chinese forces, and Rogon displayed excitement whenever he rammed an enemy vehicle with his tank. By the time the friendly tanks reached the main eagle spire, there were many burning armored vehicles in their wake. Alex jumped off the tank and let a lion soldier take control. Laval did the same and joined Alex and JayJay on the ground.

"Let's get in there and save Eris," Rogon said, raising a fist

"No Rogon" Laval said, "We need you and your tank out here to stop these enemy vehicles"

"But I have to go save Eris!"

"Taking out all these vehicles would really impress Eris," Alex said "if I were you I would go around trying to take out as many as possible"

Alex's deception worked, and the rhino raced off in his tank, wanting to crush more Chinese vehicles to impress Eris

"Does he not get that you and Eris are together?" Alex asked

"We've told him multiple times that we're a couple, but he just doesn't get it," Laval said, while the team moved towards the eagle spire "I mean, the rhinos may be dumb, but they are also strong, and with them, you definitely have an advantage in battle"

"Even with a rhino helping us, there are a lot of Chinese soldiers out here," JayJay said, "how are we gonna clear this place?"

"Like I told you..." Laval said as they entered the spire "...we have reinforcements onsite"

Worriz of the wolf tribe, Cragger of the crocodile tribe, and Bladvic of the Bear tribe were standing in a large central room, fighting off Chinese soldiers with their weapons. Worriz hit a Chinese soldier in the head with his weapon, while Bladvic charged another hostile soldier and pummeled him into submission.

"Worriz! Cragger! Bladvic! Thank god your here to help" Alex said, swinging his sword through another enemy soldier.

"I wouldn't miss this Alex," Cragger said, cutting another hostile soldier down to size "we won't let these guys destroy Chima!"

"Bladvic, I thought you'd be asleep," Alex said, remembering how the bear tribe slept almost all the time.

"I love sleeping, but when Chima's in danger, me and the bear tribe will race to help!"

"Glad to hear it"

Worriz looked over JayJay and even sniffed a little bit before saying she was an odd wolf.

"What, you've never seen a blue wolf before?" JayJay said

"Are you sure you're a wolf? Wolves don't look that... happy and cheerful" Worriz said.

"Ok, enough with what qualifies as a wolf and what doesn't, we need to stop these Chinese forces," Alex said "Laval, please tell me there's an elevator"

"Uh..." the Lion said, his eyes looking away from Alex.

*Sigh*

000

After climbing up a lot of stairs, the team emerged into an eagle library and gunned down a few Chinese soldiers. More hostile soldiers continued to pour in, forcing the team to either take cover or charge headstrong at them with melee weapons.

Cragger, Bladvic, Worriz, cut down numerous Chinese soldiers with their swords, while Alex and JayJay took cover and shot enemies down from afar.

The number of Chinese soldiers was immense, but with every killing blow or shot, the number of hostiles got smaller and smaller. With the arrival of some eagle warriors, the team managed to clear the Chinese from the room, before heading into the next section of the library. This section had large holes in the outer wall, enabling eagles to fly in and out of the spire, alongside being a stylistic choice to make the library seem more open

"Alex my friend" came Razar's voice through the radio.

"Razar? How did you get this frequency?"

"That's a raven tribe secret. But I'm here to let you know that the raven tribe is here to help in securing its customer base"

"I'm sorry?"

"With no eagle tribe, we will have lost a lot of customers my friend, yes?"

"Well, at least your here to help"

Alex looked out an open window to see a raven aircraft passing by.

"If you tell us where to shoot, we will fire right where you ask us to, yes?"

"I could use some air support"

"And this service is..." the raven gulped and struggled with his words. "...Free of charge"

"Ok, just watch out for the books, they contain a lot of knowledge. No missiles, chi blasters only"

"Tell him if we get to the completely ridiculous section he can use missiles," Laval said "Those books are... well you can probably guess from the section they are in"

A squad of Chinese soldiers approached the team of heroes, who took cover as the hostiles opened fire. Razar's black raven jet hovered outside, and fired in through the large opening in the wall, taking down the squad of Chinese soldiers.

As the team pushed forward, 2 more squads appeared, and Razar continued to fire upon them. Alex and his allies also returned fire, taking out a few hostile soldiers, but Razar was doing a great job of clearing the path.

Progressing further, the team came to a mounted machine gun turret the Chinese soldiers had set up. The gun was facing down the hallway, but before the hostiles could use it to suppress the team, Razar shot out the operator and the other infantrymen around him.

Heading into the next section, 2 machine gun turrets had been set up, these ones facing the outside, and they began to engage Razar.

"I'm being hit! Yes!?" The raven squawked, worry in his voice as bullets pelted his aircraft.

"Take out those turrets!" Alex yelled, throwing his sword and hitting an enemy soldier aiming a rocket launcher.

JayJay quickly took out the soldier manning the nearest turret, while Laval and Cragger raced forward towards the second turret, clearing out Chinese soldiers as they went.

Laval bent down and Cragger jumped on his back, before Laval jumped up, launching Cragger into the air, enabling him to reach and kill the other turret operator.

Bladvic and Worriz cleaned up the remaining hostile forces, and Alex collected his sword before everyone moved forward towards a nearby tunnel, just as more Chinese soldiers were exiting said tunnel. However because they were so close, these Chinese soldiers were quickly dispatched with melee strikes

"You're heading further into the library my friend, I can't cover you. And Chinese aircraft are targeting me, so I must fly, yes?"

"Thanks for that air support Razar. Oh, and I'll make sure word gets out that you were a big help. That should increase your notoriety and send customers flocking to you"

"Oh, thank you my friend, I see that this was a good business deal, yes?"

Coming into another room, Alex deflected incoming shots with his sword, before closing the gap to 2 enemy soldiers and slicing both of them across the chest.

JayJay took cover and took down 2 enemies in the back, while Bladvic and Cragger dealt with 3 soldiers with bulletproof shields.

Worriz was busy fighting a Chinese soldier in melee combat, before the soldier gripped Worriz in a headlock, prompting the wolf to backpedal and send both of them over a balcony inside the spire.

"Worriz!" Everyone yelled, racing over to the balcony and looking down. Luckily the pair had landed on a ledge below, with the Chinese soldier having been killed or knocked out from the fall. But Worriz surviving by landing on top of the soldier.

"I'm ok!" The wolf yelled, gaining a sigh of relief from his allies.

"Thank the legend beasts" Cragger and Laval muttered.

"I'll join you later!" Worriz said, taking out a pair of clawed gloves and jumping down to another balcony, before disappearing from view as he went to find more Chinese soldiers.

"The main landing pad is this way," Laval said

The team raced to a doorway that leads to the landing pad, dealing with 2 more Chinese soldiers along the way. Emerging out onto the landing pad, the team saw a gorilla mech bashing Chinese soldiers with its massive fists.

"Gorzan!" Laval yelled as the team raced across the flat tarmac of the landing pad "thank the legend beasts your here!"

The mech turned around, revealing the black furred gorilla in the pilot's seat.

"Hey dudes!" Gorzan said "these Chinese dudes are a real bummer man! They're putting all sorts of bad vibes in Chima"

"Wait a minute, how'd you get up here?" JayJay asked

"These mechs were built for climbing dudette"

"Incoming!" Cragger yelled, as 2 Chinese helicopters began to land and dropped off hostile soldiers.

Gorzan used his mech's chi blaster to destroy one helicopter before it could land, however, the second helicopter managed to deploy its troops, who quickly took cover behind objects on the landing pad.

A cargo helicopter landed a tank on the landing pad, and the vehicle fired its cannon at Gorzan's mech. The mech stumbled backward, before charging at the Chinese tank.

Cragger, Laval, and Bladvic charged at the Chinese soldiers and began fighting them in melee combat, while Alex and JayJay gunned down the soldiers taking cover behind an Eagle jet.

Once the hostile forces were dealt with, the team looked towards Gorzan to see him pushing the Chinese tank off the landing pad.

But there was still one hostile soldier left that the team didn't see. The soldier snuck up close behind Bladvic, aiming at his head with a shotgun.

"Bladvic! Watch out!" Alex yelled, spotting the soldier before he and JayJay opened fire, killing the enemy before he could fire. The bear whipped around and saw the fallen Chinese soldier that nearly killed him.

"Thanks for that, I don't want to go to sleep permanently"

"Don't mention it," Alex said

"Where's Eris?" Laval said, worry in his voice "I thought we would've run into her by now, I haven't been able to get ahold of her with the radio"

"Eris, do you read me?" Alex said into his radio.

Another helicopter landed and offloaded troops, and the team prepared themselves. Suddenly a damaged eagle jet crashed into the landing pad, taking out most of the Chinese soldiers, leaving only 3. The cockpit burst open and Eris jumped out, landing a blow with her ax on a Chinese soldier, before throwing the ax at another soldier, and shooting the last one with her blaster. Eris appeared more geared up than normal, equipped with more armor and weapons.

"Eris, are you ok?" Laval said, running up to her and giving her a quick hug.

"I'm fine, but there are Chinese all over the spire! This is my home!" Eris said, "I won't let it fall!"

An eagle jet raced by, with a Chinese fighter hot on its tail.

"But I just don't understand how the Chinese are being so effective," Eris said "They're taking down a lot of our vehicles and warriors, it's like they know how we operate"

"Dark Eris," Alex said

"What?"

"Your dark counterpart, she would know how the Eagles operate, she would know how to strike a devastating blow against the eagle tribe"

Alex looked up, towards a Chinese airship that seemed to be keeping away from the battle a little bit, but remained close enough to deal damage to its enemies.

"I'm betting that's the command ship," Alex said, causing everyone to look up towards the massive vessel "your dark counterpart is probably there, we need to disable that ship"

"All our jets are busy taking down Chinese aircraft," Eris said

"And so is the typhoon" JayJay added

"Then we'll have to get up there, board the vessel, and take it down from the inside," Alex said, checking how much ammo he had.

"Seriously?" Eris said in disbelief

"We did it with Dark Laval's ship. Besides, do you have a better idea?"

"How would we even get up there? And how would we clear the ship? All our warriors and aircraft are busy"

"Razar" Alex said into his radio "do you want to make another good deal my friend?"

Alex quickly explained the situation, and within minutes, Razar was landing, and Alex, JayJay, Eris, and Laval were all climbing aboard.

"Ok, we're actually doing this" Eris said

"It is crazy" JayJay responded "but we did take down a Chinese warship with this tactic"

"I'll stay here dudes!" Gorzan said, "and protect the landing pad!"

"Bladvic and I are gonna head back inside the spire and make sure it's clear," Cragger said, "You guys make sure that ship gets destroyed!"

Razar lifted off and flew upwards, towards the Chinese airship, and towards Dark Eris.

 **0000000000000000**

 **DUN DUN DUN! Another exciting chapter! thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this! be sure to leave a review and then keep going about your life!**


	17. Chapter 17: Wings of Darkness

**Hello there! For all my readers in the northern hemisphere, I hope you are all enjoying the summer months. And for all my readers in the southern hemisphere, I hope you are enjoying the winter months! I have a lot of free time, and I really feel like I should be writing more. I gotta come up with a solution, but for now, enjoy this chapter!**

 **000000000000**

The team raced towards the Chinese airship, flown by Razar aboard his jet. Looking back towards the spire and the ongoing battle, Alex watched a massive red plane circle the spire and shoot down 2 Chinese jets.

"What was that?" Alex said

"That was the Phoenix plane, the Blazing Bastion. They must have joined the fight."

"Let's hope that thing can do some damage"

The Chinese airship fired on Razar's jet with its anti-aircraft guns, forcing the raven to take evasive maneuvers.

"Hang on my friends, yes?"

Razar spun around and flew erratically, avoiding the flak before he flew straight at the anti-aircraft guns, and blew them up with barrages of missiles and blaster fire.

"It looks like a storm is coming in, yes my friend?" Razar said as the sky darkened with clouds, and raindrops struck the jet.

"There!" Alex said, pointing as he spotted an airlock entrance on the side of the ship.

Razar hovered near the airlock and shot a couple of missiles, blowing the airlock open. This barrage was followed by a spread of chi blaster fire to kill any Chinese soldiers in the vicinity. Razar then hovered near the airlock so the team could board the hostile warship. Eris picked up Laval and flew him into the airlock, while Alex climbed across Razar's jet to reach the airlock. Being extra careful, as the jet was slippery with rainwater. Upon stepping into the ship, Alex turned around and reached his hand out to JayJay to help her off the jet and into the ship.

Now that all the team members had disembarked, Razar quickly flew away as no doubt Chinese jets would be dispatched to deal with him.

"This ship is going to be heavily defended," Alex said, checking his weapons "And this time we don't have any US forces backing us up"

"How are we supposed to take this thing down with just us?" Laval said, imagining the hostile forces on the airship.

"We do have this" Alex said, reaching into his pouch and taking out a glowing orange orb surrounded by fire.

"Fire chi!" Eris said, "that's just what we need!"

"Fire chi?" JayJay asked

"It's like normal chi, but fire themed" Alex explained, tossing orbs to Laval and Eris "with it, weapons that use Chi now become incendiary weapons, and you'll gain extreme resistance to cold"

JayJay looked at her sidearm and imagined it bursting into flames and shooting fireballs.

"Our handguns don't use chi, only chi blasters do"

The wolf nodded and said she understood, while Alex tossed another Fire chi orb to her, before taking the last one out of the bag.

The group plugged the chi into their armor and were enveloped by flames. The orange chi-ed up forms of a lion, eagle, wolf, and human appeared and roared upwards, before quickly disappearing along with the flames. The orange power of chi coursed over them, creating orange fields of energy closely around their entire bodies.

Alex looked over his armor, it was now bright red with gold highlights, and he felt warm, all over. Laval and Eris's armor also was red, and it sort of looked like they were wearing jumpsuits. JayJay's red dress and gear was relatively the same color, but her fur was orange, the color of fire.

The wolf looked over the fur on her arms and tail, before swishing her hair in front of her face so she could tell what color it was.

"That's a good look for you," Alex said, noting that JayJay's hair was dark orange with gold streaks.

"Thanks, I feel... so warm!"

"Alright," Laval said, spinning his sword, "let's take this ship down"

Bursting through the inner airlock door, the team was met with a group of Chinese soldiers, who they quickly shot and cut down. The chi power surging through the young heroes gave them unmatched strength and agility, and they sprinted down the hallway, killing more Chinese soldiers as they went.

"Razar dropped us off near the back of the ship, we should see if there's an engine room or something," Alex said, cutting down 2 Chinese soldiers "if we can't find one, then let's head to the bridge and take the ship down from its brain"

"Are we going the right way? Like towards the back of the ship?" Eris asked, before blasting a hostile soldier.

"I think so, look for like pipes and wires, and follow them. They should lead us to the engine room"

Eris spotted a bright red pipe and began flying down the hallway. She reached a point where the pipe entered the wall and opened the door next to it. The eagle jumped back as she was met with a room full of Chinese soldiers. Alex tossed a grenade in the room, and after it exploded, he raced in and killed the few Chinese soldiers that the grenade hadn't dealt with.

"Guess we've found the engine room," JayJay said. Alex's grenade had caused soma damage to the pipes, metal boxes, and wires all about the room, but many were intact and still functioning.

"Destroy this place," Alex said while reloading. "This should cause some serious damage"

Laval cut into the equipment with his sword, using his immense chi strength to help. Eris did the same, while also shooting the equipment with her blaster, as Alex and JayJay were doing.

Once the room was filled with smoke, Alex threw a few grenades at strategic looking points, causing some of the engine equipment to bend and crack as it was damaged beyond repair.

The intercom system in the room came to life, and a voice that sounded a lot like Eris came through.

"What are you doing aboard my ship?!"

"Must be your counterpart." Alex said, before clicking the talk button on the speaker near the door "Hey sorry, we're just having some engine trouble, it should be fixed momentarily"

There was a hell of rage from the intercom system, while JayJay and Laval chuckled.

"Let's get to the bridge, and find my dark counterpart!" Eris said over the noise of the alarms that had started to blare.

The team exited the engine room, but as they preceded down the hallway, Laval looked out a nearby porthole and saw something horrifying.

"Guys! Look!"

The airship's cannons began to fire, hitting the eagle spire and causing huge chunks of rock to fall off it.

"No..." Eris said, completely frozen in fear.

"Don't worry Eris," Laval said, looking his mate in the eyes "we'll stop them."

"In that case, we better hurry to the bridge," Alex said, "look for a staircase."

As the team tried to find a way up to the bridge, 2 more hostile Chinese soldiers appeared, but they were killed when the wall exploded due to damage to the engine system. Luckily the hostile soldiers had emerged from a staircase, which the team quickly used to climb up towards the bridge

"I know what you've done" came Dark Eris's voice over the intercom system as the team ascended the stairs. "But your destruction of this ship's engines has merely turned it into a massive weapon."

At the top of the staircase was a group of Chinese soldiers that the team had caught off guard, and quickly dispatched them with their chi power.

Through the door to the left was the bridge, but it was filled with Chinese officers armed with handguns. Without any grenades, the team's only option was to charge headstrong into the bridge. JayJay went into rage mode and took down 3 Chinese soldiers in rapid succession, while Alex cut down 2 officers and then headed to take down 2 more. Laval dealt with a heavily armored Chinese soldier, while Eris blasted down enemies that were far away.

"Where's my counterpart?" Eris asked.

"She left," Alex said, running and grabbing hold of what appeared to be the ship's controls.

"How do you know?"

"She wouldn't want to stay on this ship, look where it's going!"

The ship was flying or rather crashing, directly towards the eagle spire.

"Quick! Steer us out of the way!" Eris yelled.

"I'm trying! But the ship's helm is locked or something, I need more force to turn it"

JayJay struggled to help Alex turn the wheel, while Eris quickly looked over the control panels.

"I'll try and see if I can turn off the engines, that should slow us down," Eris said, looking over the screens.

"Hurry!" Laval said, noticing that the ship hadn't exactly changed its course.

"Here! This should do it"

The vessel began to turn more, and with Alex and JayJay turning the helm, it looked like the vessel was now going to clear the spire.

The wheel suddenly became too easy to move, and it was clear that the connection between the wheel and the rest of the ship had been broken by the force JayJay and Alex exerted on it.

"The wheel won't go anymore," Alex said, looking out the window to see where the ship was aimed.

"It looks like we're gonna miss the spire, but just barely," Laval said

"Good, that should give me and Jay an opportunity to jump"

"Jump?"

"How do you expect us to get off of this ship? Eris, you can fly Laval off this thing, but I don't think there's enough time for you to make multiple trips for all of us."

Alex opened a door on the bridge, leading to a small observation platform on the outside of the ship.

"See you on the spire," Laval said as Eris picked him up "Get home safe!"

While the eagle and lion flew towards the spire, Alex spotted a platform that he and JayJay could jump too.

"Oh, I don't like this at all," the wolf said, shaking her head as the pair climbed atop the guardrail around the observation platform.

It was gonna be a big jump, onto a stone platform, and it would definitely hurt, but it was better than staying on the ship.

"Get ready," Alex said, as the ship moved closer and closer to the platform.

"For luck," JayJay said, giving Alex a quick peck on the cheek.

The captain readied himself, and then the precise moment came.

"JUMP!"

Alex leaped from the ship to the platform, rolling as he hit the ground, before turning around and catching JayJay before she hit the ground, knocking both of them back.

"Are you alright?" JayJay asked.

"Yeah, I should be fine."

"You two okay?" Laval said as him and Eris came over.

"Never felt better," JayJay said as she and Alex picked themselves up off the ground.

The team looked off the platform and watched as the Chinese airship crashed into a large field a little ways away. Massive explosions ripping through its hull.

The Fire chi wore off, and the orange fields surrounding the mammals disappeared as they powered down

"Why is my fur still orange?" JayJay asked

"The Fire chi might have worn off, but the changes it caused are still in effect," Laval said, "look at our clothes, they're still bright red."

"It should come out, I mean it's just orange dye"

"As I said, that's a good look for you"

"Hmmm... maybe I'll keep it"

"Look! Down there!" Laval said, pointing down towards the main landing pad. Gorzan's mech had been wrecked, and Dark Eris was tearing through eagle warriors with her Chinese army.

"We need to get down there and stop her!" Eris said, before flying down a stairwell, with the rest of the team running after her.

Upon arriving at the landing pad, the team spotted Dark Eris, standing alone in the center of the landing pad, with the bodies of eagle warriors all around her. The eagle's armor was dark and gray, while her weapon was a long-handled ax, with a double sided blade on both ends.

"Laval, on the ship in the northern Pacific. Who did it?" Dark Eris asked, "which one of you killed him?"

Laval sheepishly raised his hand, realizing she was talking about Dark Laval.

"You took away the one I loved," The dark eagle said, pointing her ax at Laval before her gaze shifted to Eris "so I will take away the one you love!"

Dark Eris flew at top speed towards Laval, but Eris jumped in front of him and blocked her counterpart with her ax.

Bullets flew past Alex and his team, and the captain ordered everyone to take cover and return fire back at the Chinese soldiers. However, Eris and Dark Eris still continued to battle with their axes.

Eris created some distance between the 2 combatants and fired chi blasts. Dark Eris blocked the blasts with her wings, which were armored and could resist the damage.

Dark Eris closed the distance and hit Eris's blaster out of her hand, before attempting to bash Eris with the handle of her weapon. The 2 got engaged in a weapon lock with the hilts of their axes, while a storm cloud rolled in, covering the main landing pad and reducing visibility to a few feet. Eris broke the weapon lock and disappeared into the cloud, forcing Dark Eris to watch the area around herself.

"Where are you!?"

That question was answered a few seconds later when Eris appeared behind her counterpart and landed a devastating strike on her enemy's wing.

Eris managed to hit a chink in Dark Eris's wing armor, and she was able to rip the armor on her left wing off. The evil eagle punched Eris off her, before ripping off the armor on her other wing, as she couldn't fly with armor on only 1 wing. Eris had taken this moment to disappear back into the cloud, before charging at her dark counterpart and performing a series of rapid ax strikes. Some of these strikes found their marks, and hit Dark Eris's armor, causing huge gashes. With one final strike, Eris broke her opponent's weapon in 2, creating an ax with a small handle, and another with a long handle.

The Dark Eagle threw the smaller ax at her enemy, hitting Eris's armor and stunning her, but not doing any damage.

Through the fog, Dark Eris spotted Laval, killing a few Chinese soldiers with his sword. She began to walk up to the lion, ready to kill him with her ax. Noticing this, Eris used all her strength to fly high into the air, before turning around and flying at top speed towards her counterpart.

Using the element of surprise, Dark Eris disarmed Laval and grabbed him by the neck.

"Consider this your punishment."

Laval struggled with her grip while Dark Eris raised her ax.

"Get away from him you bitch!" Eris screamed, before hitting Dark Eris in the chest with a gliding kick, causing the dark eagle to drop Laval and stumble backward. Eris rolled as she landed, and drew 2 small eagle blasters. The eagle princess opened fire on her dark counterpart, with the evil bird stumbling back as chi blasts shredded her damaged chest armor and exposed wings. Dark Eris eventually was pushed to the edge of the platform, and with one more step, she fell.

The dark eagle screamed sharply as she plummeted down, unable to use her damaged wings to stop her fall to death. Soon Dark Eris disappeared into the clouds of the storm, and her screams faded out.

Eris breathed a sigh of relief, her dark counterpart was dead, and Laval was safe. Alex and the team finished off the last Chinese soldiers as the rain began to let up.

"Guys!" Toothdee said, contacting everyone through the radio "the Chinese forces are in full retreat! We've won!"

000

It was no longer raining, but the sky was still darkened by clouds as a wolf medic and lion medic treated the wounds Worriz and Gorzan had suffered during the battle. Bladvic was fast asleep on the ground nearby, either worn out by the fight or just heading back to sleep now that the battle was over.

The typhoon was hovering near the spire, and those onboard had disembarked to check on the damage from the battle. Large chunks of the spire had been destroyed, and many were dead or wounded, but the eagle tribe had survived. Cragger and Toothdee were checking out the typhoon, inspecting the damage it had taken during the battle.

Retsuko and Haida were exploring the spire, looking in wonder at the eagle architecture that they were seeing for the first time in their lives. Then a group of birds with red feathers, orange wings, and red clothing cake up to the pair.

"Ah, new species," one bird with a golden staff said

"...Phoenix..." Retsuko gasped, instantly remembering what she'd heard about this tribe.

"I am Fluminox, leader of the Phoenix tribe"

As Fluminox spoke his voice echoed multiple times like there were many people speaking at the same time.

"My name is retsuko, I'm a red panda, and this is Haida, he's a hyena"

"Wow, I've never seen a red panda or a hyena before," said a young Phoenix, Flinx, Fluminox's son.

"Indeed my son, I've also never seen members of your species, in all the thousands of years I have lived"

"We're from Tokyo, Japan. It's a while away so that's probably why you haven't seen us" retsuko said.

"I must say, you seem like interesting races. I hate to cut our conversation short, but do you know where your leader is? Captain Boehm?"

"Somewhere over there," Haida said pointing in the direction he thought Alex might be.

Fluminox thanked Haida and promised to learn more about their species before walking away, with Flinx cheerfully saying bye.

"Wow, didn't think I'd get to see a Phoenix today," Haida remarked, watching the birds leave.

JayJay was busy talking with Alex about how her orange fur coat looked, and the captain still thought it was a pretty look for her.

"You sure?" The wolf asked, spinning around so Alex could see every angle.

"Looks fine to me. It gives you that 'fiery' look, kinda like your personality."

"Aww, thank you! But I do like the clash between my red dress & blue fur."

"That does look very pretty as well, but I think you look good no matter what color your fur is."

The captain gave a thumbs up to drive his point home.

"Someone likes wolves." JayJay laughed.

"By the way, thank you for that good luck charm you gave me."

"Well, it was more so to calm my nerves."

"And why would that be?"

The wolf's cheeks turned redder than her clothes, and Alex couldn't help but giggle. "That's a cute look for you as well."

JayJay covered her face in embarrassment.

"Well let me know if you need any more luck," Alex said, still enjoying how adorable she looked.

The fun was interrupted when an elder eagle approached the pair of heroes. This eagle had a crown atop his forehead and was dressed in long blue robes that appeared to shine.

"Captain Boehm?" The eagle asked

"Yeah?"

"I am Ewald, leader of the Eagle tribe. You have my eternal thanks for saving us. The Eagles would like to offer you something, as a token of our appreciation"

"What is it?"

Ewald ushered over 2 eagles carrying a crate. They opened the crate to reveal a bunch of small metal devices that looked like parts of a gun.

"These devices can be placed inside your weapons." Ewald said "When you fire, they will coat the bullet in a field of chi energy, effectively combining the power of lead bullets and chi blasts. We designed it to be compatible with both normal chi and fire chi, though we haven't tested it with the latter."

"Looks like we will be able to use chi in our weapons after all," JayJay said as Alex examined the devices.

"You can charge them like you charge any weapon that uses chi" The eagle leader explained "once again, thank you for saving our tribe"

"You have my thanks as well," Lagravis said, coming over "you and your team have saved the lion tribe's greatest allies"

"We're just doing our jobs, your majesty."

"Please call me Lagravis, and know that the lion tribe is behind you if you ever need our help."

"Thank you Lagravis."

The elder lion began chatting with Ewald, probably about helping the tribe recover.

"Whoa, now there's some birds that like using fire chi," JayJay said, pointing to Fluminox and his entourage.

"That's the Phoenix tribe," Alex said "they created fire chi. Didn't you read the files on Chima?"

"Nah, I wanted to hear it from you."

Fluminox spotted the pair and headed over to them.

"Alex," the Phoenix said, "and..."

"JayJay"

"...JayJay, you have done a great service to Chima today"

"Yeah!" Flinx said, "this is just like when you saved Chima from the meterex invasion!"

"We view you as some of our greatest warriors, and a force we can count on in Chima's times of need. You might be a better protector of Chima than us Phoenix."

Before Alex could respond, Rogan jumped right in front of him.

"Eris! Where's Eris! I must see Eris, my love!"

"Uhh... she's over there," Alex said, pointing in a direction Eris was definitely not, as he figured she and Laval wouldn't want to be interrupted.

"Oh thank you!" The rhino said, before running off, almost knocking over a few friendly warriors as he ran.

Laval and Eris were, in fact, standing at the edge of the landing pad, looking down at where Dark Eris had fallen to her death.

"Are you ok?" Laval asked "you just killed what is basically yourself"

"I'm fine Laval, she wasn't me. She was dark and evil, I'm just glad you're safe"

The eagle placed her hand on Laval's shoulder.

"Thank you, you've saved me more times than I can count, and this makes it one more time"

"I wouldn't let her hurt you"

The pair hugged.

"I guess I'm your 'lion in distress"

The pair looked each other in their eyes, happy now that both their dark counterparts were gone.

"Say, I know I always ask this..." Eris said, "...but are you sure my beak doesn't hurt your lips?"

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt. Even if it did, I'm an elite warrior, I could take it"

The pair closed their eyes and their lips connected, with both lion and eagle enjoying the loving kiss.

"I love you," Eris said, breaking the kiss.

"I love you too."

The couple kissed again while the clouds cleared, allowing the sunlight of a new dawn to flow through.

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 **I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! You get points if you can spot the reference I snuck in!**


	18. Chapter 18: The Infiltration

**Hello! after a short break to write and post an Aggressive Retsuko story, I am now back with Alex Final Wars! This chapter is very James Bond / spy inspired chapter. You'll see what I mean soon enough. Please enjoy this chapter!**

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In the Hainan province in southern China was a location known as Hainan resort, a fancy and upscale resort where any guest could enjoy themselves swimming or lounging in a beautiful tropical environment. But there was a dark side to this location, as nearby there was a Chinese submarine base tucked away and under heavy guard. Chinese soldiers and even a warship patrolled nearby. However, that wouldn't stop Alex, Jack, and Skye. Heroes wanted to figure out what the Chinese were up to, and information about their operations would be stored at a base such as this. The objective was simple, get in, find some juicy intel, and get out.

Under cover of darkness, the trio had scuba dived towards the base, using small handheld underwater thrusters to travel quicker. Currently, the team was traveling underneath the Chinese warship that was on patrol. The ship had its sonar activated, causing pressure waves throughout the water that made the team wince.

"Hurry up," Alex said into the radio in his mask "let's get out of here before that sonar gives us brain damage or something"

"They shouldn't be able to detect us," Jack said, "all our gear is designed to hide our sonar signature."

"How does it do that, specifically?"

"That's classified, you're lucky I was able to get ahold of a suit for you."

"Hang on, do you think it's possible we could plant a charge on that warship above us?"

"This is supposed to be a stealth mission," Skye said

"No, not to detonate it now, but later. Every Chinese warship we destroy now is one less more we have to fight later"

"If you can do it, then go ahead. But you're going to be getting really close to that sonar"

"Be right back, wait here" Alex said, taking out an explosive charge and swimming up towards the warship.

Nearing the vessel's propeller, Alex's head was starting to hurt from the sonar, but he managed to quickly plant a charge near the ship's propeller, before swimming back down to join his companions.

"Are you alright?" Jack asked

"I'm fine, let's keep going"

When the team reached the base, they used a torch to cut through an underwater vent grate, before swimming through and ending up inside a submarine pen. Alex once again used the team's proximity to the Chinese vessel to plant a charge on its propeller, while Skye used a small waterproof snake camera to find a safe area to emerge from the water.

"There are 2 security cameras in here," The arctic fox said, before drawing a suppressed weapon, and firing a single shot.

*pew*

The bullet broke out of the water and hit the camera, destroying it.

"Make that 1 camera"

*pew*

"Make that 0 zero cameras"

There were a few Chinese guards in the room, but they were oblivious to the fact that their cameras had been cut, and continued to patrol around the sub pen. The 3 team members each lined up a shot on a hostile soldier, before firing at the same time. They downed all guards simultaneously and secured the room.

"We're inside the base now," Jack said "it shouldn't be far to the control room"

"Look for the main hallway" Alex responded, checking over the body of a dead Chinese officer "and I might know of a trick that could help us"

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Alex, now disguised as the Chinese officer headed down the main hallway, checking the area for hostile soldiers. It was night, so everyone must have been asleep, and the only one on watch was a security camera in one corner. Alex noted this and looked for a room that said "security office" on it. Luckily his high tech glasses were able to read Chinese writing and translate it into English for him.

Spotting the room, Alex headed inside and was met with 3 Chinese guards, who were keeping watch over the base via cameras. The guards stood up and saluted him, before Alex saluted them back and made a motion for them to continue with their work, keeping his face hidden by his hat.

The guards resumed their monitoring duties, while Alex prepared to take them down using a secret weapon. He had a glove that was coated in a fast-acting sleeping agent, so when he performed a takedown on a hostile, the agent would go into that individual's nose and mouth, putting them to sleep. He didn't exactly need it for it to stealthily take people down, but it was a good way to ensure silence when discretion was absolutely necessary. Which in this case it was, as the other guards were not even 3 feet away. Gripping one guard by the nose and mouth, Alex made sure to keep a good grasp on the guard, so he didn't alert the other hostiles. The guard quickly fell asleep, and the captain took a moment to appreciate how effective this unique tool was. The other 2 guards were sat side by side, so Alex performed a dual takedown, rendering them both unconscious. Alex turned off the security measures and headed back out into the hallway.

"It's all clear," Alex said, prompting Jack and Skye to move down the hallway. "And I took out the security station, don't worry about cameras"

Behind Alex, a door opened and a Chinese soldier walked out, but Jack shot him before the soldier could do anything.

Entering the data analysis room, the team was confronted with 5 analysts going over data on computers and papers.

Alex took down one enemy, leaving 2 pairs of analysts who were sitting next to each other. On Alex's cue, Jack and Skye shot 2 analysts, while Alex performed a takedown on a third, and shot the 4th one with his pistol.

"The intel we need will be in a more secure location," Skye said "we can hack past any electronic defense, but there will also be armed guards"

Noticing a nearby doorway, Alex used his own snake cam to look under the door and spotted 2 Chinese soldiers standing next to a data vault.

"There's our target, I got this," The Captain said, opening the door and stumbling through, hunched over and clutching his chest.

The soldiers let their guard down and approached him, thinking he was wounded, but that's when Alex took the opportunity to shoot them both in the chest, clearing the way to the vault.

Skye quickly began hacking into the data vault, and a few minutes later she was in.

"Ok, let's see what we have here... I... oh no..."

"What is it?" Jack said

"There's a piece of intel here detailing the attack plan for an assault on Zootopia. It even says the fleet partaking the attack has already left, and this file is dated to a couple of days ago!"

"Away team do you read?" Toothdee said through the radio.

"Toothdee this was supposed to be a radio silent mission!" Alex said.

"This is important! We just got a distress call from Zootopia! Chinese forces have entered the city!"

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 **I want to incorporate all sorts of cool little gadgets and tools into the story, and that glove with the sleeping agent is an example of that. Along with the airships. I was actually debating adding that glove in, thinking it might seem like a plothole of some sort. But I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**


	19. Chapter 19: The 2nd Battle of Zootopia

**After a long hiatus, Alex Final Wars is back! Why was it gone for so long? I was waiting for some awesome chapter artwork from Starwishermidnight! Check her out on DA!** **Unfortunately since your reading this on FFN, I can't post the artwork, so I will just leave you with this action-packed chapter!**

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The city of Zootopia occupied a key location on the US west coast, and it would certainly be a prime target for any force seeking to deal damage against the country. It was no wonder then that the Chinese had devoted a large number of mammalpower and resources to the city's capture. Although the city had the ZIA and ZPD for defense, it still relied on the US military.

Enroute back to Zootopia, the team had prepared to forcibly evict the Chinese out of the city. This was an all-paws-on-deck mission. Everyone had been given a combat role and an operational area that they would work in. Even Haida and Retsuko has been tasked with providing combat support over the radio. While they were glad to finally be doing more, the state of Zootopia still had the pair worried. Fabienne was also joining a Heroes team heading towards ZNN, where she would help some of her colleagues evacuate. She had been surprisingly calm, probably because she was an experienced reporter and had been in her fair share of war zones. The Typhoon was alive with activity as warriors frantically raced around the ship, preparing for battle.

There were sightings of Kion's Dark counterpart, but his location was unknown. US marines were already on site, defending the city. Multiple Heroes teams would join the US forces in a counteroffensive to push the enemy back.

Chinese ships occupied the bay, while fires burned all over the city, creating massive plumes of smoke. Chinese jets streaked across the skies, strafing machine-gun fire on any target they saw.

The Typhoon set down in a US controlled area, as everyone prepared to enter the fray.

"We've failed." Jack said, gathering up his gear. His ears were droopy and he was not preparing himself with the same determined spirit that he'd had in other missions. "Our job as ZIA agents was to keep Zootopia safe, and now the Chinese are attacking the city. We've failed at our foremost objective."

Skye nodded, and her face gave away the fact that she was also feeling the same burden of guilt that Jack felt.

"Don't say that." Toothdee said. "It's not your fault. You did all you could."

"There's no way you could have known this was gonna happen. Blame the people attacking the city, don't blame yourself." Nick said, putting his paw on his friend's shoulder.

"But now that we're here, we can make a difference." Judy said, maintaining the steadfast determination that she had since childhood.

A determined look came across Skye's face as she realized her allies were correct. The best way for her to serve Zootopia now, was stopping the Chinese invasion. "Your right, let's do this." The arctic fox clicked the safety off on her rifle.

After gathering up gear, weapons, and ammo, the heroes assembled in the hangar bay where vehicles had been prepared and fueled. Capitan Boehm cleared his throat and tried to rouse everyone's spirits, even though he was nervous. Dialogue was not his forte, but his friends could use a rousing speech, so he would at least try.

"Zootopia needs our help!"

There were whoops and yells from the warriors in the room. Each of them was eager to get out in the fray and give the Chinese a firm kick in the pants.

"We are incredible warriors, we can do this! We can beat them back!"

There was another round of cheers and the excitement in the room was palpable.

"Are you ready to get out there in the fray?!"

Everyone let out a battle cry and raised a fist or a weapon.

"Heroes, form up!"

Each individual team hopped in a truck or Jeep, and Alex opened the doors to the Typhoon's garage, letting the teams race out, going past US soldiers and heading to their predetermined areas.

Nick and Judy headed to ZPD HQ, while Skye and Jack made haste to the ZIA HQ.

Alex, Kion, and Jasiri were in a Humvee; driving to meet hostile forces head on. As Alex maneuvered the vehicle through abandoned cars and rubble, they passed by some civilians trying to get to safety. The captain went as fast as he could, swerving through the streets, narrowly avoiding obstacles.

"Whoa! Careful dude!" Kion said, holding onto his seat and watching a downed lamppost narrowly miss the vehicle. "Your gonna kill us before we can even get to the Chinese!"

"What? Do you want to drive?"

"Ugh, just don't send us careening off a cliff." Kion begrudgingly said.

"You know, between you and me, that speech went a lot better than I expected."

"You did great, I've never seen a group of people so eager to enter into combat."

"I am not good with words; it took me a moment to work up my courage."

"Ha! Bullets aren't a problem, but words are?" Kion laughed.

"You keep that to yourself." Alex jested.

The team reached a US tank on a main road, along with a group of US Marines that were taking cover behind concrete debris. A squad of Chinese soldiers was engaging the Marines and pinning them down, while the tank tried its best to beat the enemy back.

Hopping out of the Humvee, the team engaged the Chinese, downing a few before being noticed.

"Heroes?!" A US Marine yelled, clearly surprised.

Kion cut down 2 Chinese soldiers, while Jasiri gunned down 2 more with her pistols. The last few soldiers fell back, and disappeared from view behind a large pile of rubble that was blocking the road.

"We weren't expecting elite forces." One of the Marines said.

"What's the situation?" Captain Boehm said, wanting to get a grip on things and chase the Chinese out of the city.

"We're getting ready to push back, but the Chinese are still hitting us hard."

Suddenly a rocket streaked down from one of the nearby buildings and hit the US tank that was nearby. The vehicle exploded in a ball of fire, killing the crew inside.

"Take cover!" Kion said, prompting Heroes and the Marines to hide in a small shop off to the side of the road.

"Alright, you stay here and push forward with the other US forces once they arrive." Alex said to the Marines as he checked his ammo. "We'll act as the tip of the spear and make things easier for the main force."

"Roger that, good luck sir." A Marine said.

This was the job of Heroes. As elite forces, it was their duty to help their allies however best they could. The team headed into the back of the shop, and found a door with a staircase behind it. They began to make their way up, heading towards the location where the Chinese rocket had come from.

It was difficult to find a route through the tight and dark corridors of the building, but eventually the team reached another door, and they heard a foreign language on the other side.

The captain smiled and chuckled a bit. He loved it when a situation presented itself that allowed him or his allies get the drop on an enemy. Alex counted down. "3... 2... 1... Go!"

The trio burst through the door and immediately engaged the group of Chinese soldiers in the room. The rocket trooper that destroyed the tank was quickly gunned down in a hail of bullets, along with all the other hostiles. One soldier had been thrown back onto the floor when the opening door hit him, making him easy for Kion to dispatch with his blade.

"Hell yeah! That was awesome!" Alex said "Keep it up!"

Taking a look at their surroundings, the team picked another hallway and began to move down through it. In the close confines, Alex and Kion were cutting down many enemy soldiers with swords, while Jasiri kept laying down supporting fire with her pistols.

"We should get back to the street; those US soldiers need us." The hyena said, killing a bunch of hostile soldiers by performing a flourishing attack, in which she twirled and fired shots all around her, hitting anyone in the area.

"Agreed," Captain Boehm said, slicing a PLA trooper with his sword, and quickly followed up with 2 chi blasts to the heads of enemy troops.

"There's a stairwell over here!" Kion said, charging at a heavy weapons soldier and ramming his sword through his adversary.

Not wanting to leave the US soldiers on the street without friendly support, the group moved down the stairwell. They heard a commotion from the bottom of the building and looked down the center of the stairwell shaft. They saw a large group of enemy soldiers sprinting up the stairs from the bottom.

Kion took out a grenade and looked to his friends with a questioning expression. They instantly knew what he was thinking.

"We're gonna have to time this right." Jasiri said, as her and Alex took out grenades. The trio pulled the grenade pins and cooked them in their hands for a few seconds, before dropping them down the center of the stairwell.

Right as the grenades fell by the soldiers, they exploded, killing the Chinese troopers. The team were able to proceed down the stairs uninterrupted. They passed one trooper who, despite being critically wounded by the grenades, was still alive. The captain took pity and put him out of his misery, as he would have otherwise slowly died from his wounds. Even though the soldier was his enemy, Alex was still kind enough to show him mercy.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the team was finally able to get to the street. The sky was hazy with smoke, and the setting sun caused an orange tint across the entire city. Rubble was strewn about the entire area, and the sounds of combat filled the air.

"There!" Kion said, pointing towards a group of PLA soldiers. The team engaged the hostile forces, while some civilians nearby fled for their lives.

Alex noticed a young cheetah, probably only 5 or 6 years old, standing in the middle of the ruined street, looking around. She clutched a stuffed cheetah in her paws, and while she looked scared, she wasn't crying or screaming.

Overcome with fear and determination, Alex charged forward towards the lost cheetah, cutting in half a PLA soldier with his sword as he ran. Kion and Jasiri provided cover fire, presumably also having seen the young cheetah and feared for the girl's life.

Reaching the young girl, Alex quickly pulled her to safety as his allies kept them covered.

"I'm gonna get you out of here, sweetie." Alex said, trying to sound soft and caring. "Do you think you can run?"

"Y-yes." The young girl said as she quickly nodded, her eyes wide. Jasiri reloaded and gave Alex a nod of confirmation that they were ready to provide suppressing fire.

"Ok, you be brave for me." The captain and the cheetah sprinted out of cover, and managed to get into an alleyway where they bumped into a group of ZPD SWAT.

"This young girl lost her parents, she needs to be escorted out of here." Alex said to the team leader.

"On it, sir!" The officer responded before speaking into his radio.

"You were very brave today." Boehm said, crouching down to the girl's height, as well as taking out a ration bar, and giving it to her. "These fine mammals are gonna get you back to your parents. What's your name?"

"F-F-Fuli" the young girl said, trembling. "F-Fuli D-Duma."

The captain stood up and gestured to himself. "Alex Boehm." He said, before running off to assist his friends.

As more US Marines, ZPD officers, and ZIA agents entered the area, the trio of heroes continued battling the PLA soldiers. Alex and Jasiri gunned down any enemy soldier they laid eyes on, while Kion deflected incoming bullets with his sword. Though they were outnumbered by enemy soldiers, they showed no fear, as they knew the Chinese were clearly outmatched.

The last soldier fell to Jasiri's shots, and the hyena blew the gun smoke off the ends of her pistols, before triumphantly stating "They weren't expecting elite forces!"

A truck of enemy soldiers pulled up, but was obliterated by machine gun fire from an approaching US armored vehicle. A ZIA agent ran up to give a report to the Heroes team.

"The Chinese forward base is just ahead!" The agent reported. "Thats where the Chinese fleet is deploying forces and coordinating the assault."

"Then that's our target. Let's go kick them out of Zootopia!" Jasiri yelled, rallying friendly forces, before they moved forwards towards the Chinese base. The large group of infantry was accompanied by light and heavy armored vehicles, and a few aircraft in support.

Three PLA soldiers, using grenade launcher turrets, engaged the US force, causing the marines to run for cover.

"I'll get the right turret." Captain Boehm said.

"Jasiri, you get the middle one, I'll get the left one!" Kion said, charging forward with his head down.

Bullets whizzed over his head and struck the rubble he was taking cover behind. He had to roll and move as fast as he could to avoid being hit. The lion managed to reach the turret and stab the operator with his sword, before turning it on another hostile.

Jasiri and Alex also had similar luck with their targets, enabling their allies to continue pressing forward. This assault was going smoothly, and Heroes were easily pushing back the attacking force. They were driven by the singular desire to stop the assault on their glorious city.

A Chinese helicopter moved in and opened fire, forcing Jasiri and Alex to engage it with their firearms. Kion used one of the commandeered turrets to engage the aircraft. Bullets struck the canopy and engines, cracking the glass and soon caused smoke to pour from the engines. After sustaining enough damage, the aircraft fell back, having trouble controlling its movement.

The US force had now reached the Chinese base. Vehicles, soldiers, communications tech, and other equipment were set up throughout the area. Chinese landing hovercraft were assembled on the beach, and 2 amphibious assault ships floated in the bay nearby.

The Chinese soldiers began to take cover and open fire on the incoming enemies, with the PLA vehicles doing the same. Even the turrets on the hovercraft joined the engagement.

As Alex and the team pushed forward towards a communications center nearby, friendly rocket troopers fired at the enemy vehicles with explosives. A US tank also destroyed some of the turrets on the hovercraft.

The communications center was filled with large servers and small military laptops set up on tables. Wires ran along the floor, and cooling fans in the servers created a slight buzzing sound in the area.

"Pull any hard drives and data you can get; knowledge is power." Alex said, cutting down a Chinese soldier, "Any intel is useful. Once you get it, blast everything else into scrap."

Jasiri and Kion went to work, ripping out servers and transferring files from computers, while Alex kept them covered, shooting any enemy that tried to interfere with their operation.

After Heroes had all the data they needed, Jasiri blasted the communications equipment with her pistols. Kion moved to slice through a computer server with his sword, but Jasiri stopped him and recommended unplugging the device to avoid the fate of Dark Laval. After a few seconds the communications center had been reduced to smoldering equipment that could never be fixed.

Chinese vehicles were still active, and the team settled on those as their next targets, as they were the most dangerous. Kion knew he couldn't do much damage to vehicle armor with his sword, so he looked around in a Chinese weapon stash. A smug expression crossed the lion's face as he found a rocket launcher. He quickly turned it on a Chinese tank and turned the enemy vehicle into a flaming heap. Alex jumped onto an armored personnel carrier and managed to pry the top hatch open, before dropping in a grenade.

The Chinese attack helicopter returned and launched a volley of rockets, making Jasiri run for her life as explosions rocked the ground behind her.

"Jasiri!" Kion yelled, turning the rocket launcher on the aircraft, before firing and ripping through its armor. The vehicle spun out of control and crashed onto one of the hovercraft, destroying the still active turret.

"YEAH!" Kion gave a middle finger to the smoldering wreckage. He was very protective of his hyena.

Jasiri spotted a Chinese surface-to-air missile site and quickly alerted her teammates to its existence. After gunning and cutting down a few Chinese soldiers guarding the site, the team of heroes was able to get close, and place primed grenades onto the missile launcher. As the trio quickly got clear, the grenades exploded, destroying the launcher.

Two Chinese attack boats pulled up to the shore, but they continued moving forward onto the beach. As the vessels emerged from the water, it was revealed that they had 4 tracks on the underside, that allowed the vehicles to leave the water and move on land.

"Uh... what the hell are those things?" Kion said as Chinese troops disembarked the craft.

"Whatever it is, shoot it." Alex said, following his own words, as a turret on one of the amphibious vehicles opened fire. The captain would have loved to figure out more about the vehicles, as he loved new technology. But unfortunately the vehicles were shooting back at him.

An enemy heavy-arms trooper, carrying a grenade launcher, opened fire, blowing up a US vehicle and killing many US soldiers. Alex changed his target to the heavy trooper, attacking him with his sword. The captain managed to get a few good hits on the trooper before he could react. Once the trooper did react though, he blocked Alex's sword with his grenade launcher. The 2 combatants got into a weapon lock, before Alex used the blaster on his sword to kill the soldier by shooting him in the face.

Picking up the grenade launcher, the captain noticed one of the amphibious vehicles moving backwards into the water. There was probably a driver inside, or maybe it was autonomous. Directing the grenade launcher towards the vehicle, a couple shots managed to disable it.

"Man I would have loved to get a closer look at that thing!"

Jasiri and Kion had destroyed the turret on the second vehicle, and managed to do enough damage to disable the craft.

A United States B-1B Lancer bomber and its escort jets flew over the Chinese ships, the bomber dropping its payload and obliterating the vessels.

The Heroes team cheered and raised their weapons triumphantly as they watched the vessels burn. But this moment of victory was cut short when Judy's voice came through the radio, filled with worry.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

"Oh hey, Officer Hopps." Kion said, feeling pleased with his work "We just took out a Chinese base."

"ZPD reports that the tide is turning in our favor, Kion, but we've also got a confirmed sighting of your counterpart. We're heading to investigate now."

"Do not engage! This guy is dangerous. I repeat, do not engage!" Alex said, hoping the rabbit listened to him. "We'll come there and assist you."

The trio turned away from the burning ships and headed back into the city. Their cheerful mood had changed to a drive to stop Kion's counterpart, as they did not want him to cause anymore chaos. Zootopia was not free just yet.

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 **Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this new chapter! Next week, Heroes goes after Kion's counterpart. Until next time!**


	20. Chapter 20: Bite of a Lion

**Hi! How is** **everyone doing today? I just started another semester of college, so I have that to look forward too. Wish me luck! But I still have another update for you! I would like to sincerely thank JKnight97 for beta reading this chapter & the last one, I could not ask for a better beta reader! Now, let us rejoin our heroes!**

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Alex, Jasiri, and Kion had commandeered a US buggy and were now racing through the city towards Nick and Judy. The fox and bunny were holding their position outside a warehouse on the city outskirts. A ZPD officer had spotted Kion's dark counterpart, along with a heavy Chinese presence in the area.

Night had fallen, making it difficult for Jasiri to drive, and the debris littering the streets was not helping either.

There were still a lot of Chinese stragglers that needed to be dealt with, but Kion was operating the turret on top of the vehicle, ready to open fire upon any threat.

The hyena at the wheel expertly maneuvered the buggy around a large rubble pile, and continued speeding down the highway.

"Roadblock!" Kion said, spotting an assembled group of Chinese vehicles up ahead. The Chinese forces had their backs away from the team, and were engaging a group of ZPD officers on the opposite side of the roadblock.

"Let's make this quick! We have somewhere to be."

Jasiri stopped the buggy and the young heroes silently approached the enemy from the rear.

"Friendlies in the line of fire." Jasiri signalled in paw language. Captain Boehm put his rifle on his back and drew his sword, its blue glow clearly visible.

"No firearms, hand to paw combat," he whispered, giving the paw signal to advance and attack.

Jasiri holstered her pistols and drew a combat knife from its sheath.

Kion stabbed an unaware PLA soldier straight through the chest, with his human ally following suit. Jasiri grabbed an enemy, sinking her claws into him, before doing the same with her knife.

A couple hostiles turned around to engage the squad, weapons ready. Kion used his sword to knock an enemy weapon away, before grabbing the soldier's head and slamming it into one of the cars on the highway. Meanwhile, the Heroes captain stood ready as a PLA soldier lined up and fired a few shots. The bullets deflected off Alex's sword and went right back into the soldier who fired them.

Overwhelmed by the fury of blades and claws, the hostile squad was quickly overpowered.

"Didn't stand a chance."

The ZPD officers thanked the trio for their help, as they climbed back into the buggy and continued onwards after pushing through the Chinese roadblock. They reached the warehouse in minutes, and linked up with Nick and Judy, who were hiding behind a concrete barricade at the warehouse gate.

The 2 officers were dressed in their ZPD uniforms, and Judy was armed with her tranquilizer pistol, while Nick used a bow from the Typhoon's armory.

"Hey, nice to see you guys. How was your drive?" The rabbit jested.

"Well we encountered a couple Chinese stragglers, but that's about it." Jasiri said.

"According to Intel, Kion's counterpart is in there." Judy said, pointing to the building. There were no Chinese soldiers outside, probably to avoid too much attention from any prying eyes.

"You ready for this, big guy?" Alex asked, making sure Kion was in a sound state of mind.

The lion took a deep breath and gripped his sword. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The team crept forward and reached the building. Nick picked the lock and the group got inside the structure.

They headed up a stairway and spotted a pair of Chinese soldiers, which Alex and Nick took down. Alex used his suppressed pistol and Nick used his bow, so the group wasn't detected.

The team found their way to a set of catwalks above the warehouse, and took down a few more PLA soldiers. The team gazed down into the warehouse below them, and saw Kion's counterpart, along with a lot of hostiles.

Dark Kion paced the floor and muttered under his breath.

"Those 'Heroes' kill two of our group, and then they just obliterated our assault?! I will make them feel pain, I will make them suffer."

"What are they doing?" Jasiri said.

The group spotted a truck that was being filled with explosives, along with a few other Chinese vehicles. From Dark Kion's dialogue, it was clear that the lion had become unhinged, and the extremist tactics he was about to use in combat also showed his deteriorating mental state.

"That truck can't be heading anywhere good." Kion said. He felt kind of guilty for the actions of his counterpart.

"Yeah, let's get down there and stop them." Captain Boehm said "It looks like they haven't rigged the explosives yet, so they shouldn't be able to detonate them."

"Please tell me your sure about that." Judy asked, a nervous expression on her face.

"Eh... I mean, I wouldn't recommend standing right next to the truck."

Heading down another set of stairs, the group reached the ground floor of the warehouse and opened fire, no longer caring about stealth, as there were too many enemies. They quickly downed many hostiles and pushed forward. To the group's horror, Kion's counterpart jumped into the truck and accelerated forward.

Jasiri rolled out of the way as the truck crashed through the old warehouse door, and was quickly followed by a pair of light Chinese trucks.

"Shit! Shit!" Kion sword under his breath, blaming himself for not stopping his counterpart.

"We gotta follow that truck! Now!" Alex said, fearing the truck's destination.

The team jumped into another PLA vehicle and sped off after the truck. This Chinese vehicle also had a turret mounted on top, and once again Kion took control of it as they sped down the zootopian streets.

"Hurry!" Judy said, unable to shake the feeling that many citizens of Zootopia were about to be hurt or worse. The truck full of explosives was being escorted by 2 other vehicles, and it was imperative that it did not reach where it was going.

The team opened fire on one of the Chinese vehicles, with Alex pulling closer so his allies could fire on the driver.

The Chinese truck was riddled with bullets and crashed, as a pair of enemy soldiers on motorcycles and a hostile helicopter joined the pursuit. Kion targeted the helicopter, while everyone except Alex targeted the soldiers on motorcycles.

The captain pulled around and rammed the second escorting truck, causing it to crash, with one of the motorbikes hitting it in the process. Kion managed to damage the helicopter enough to down it, and Nick landed a finishing shot on the second motorcycle soldier.

"We need to get to that truck." Alex said, plowing through a squad of PLA soldiers that the pursuit passed by.

"Can we get someone to... I don't know? Jump to it?" Nick wondered.

"Kion! Get up to the roof and jump onto the truck!"

"What?!" The Lion said "Me?! Why me?!"

"Because I'm driving here!"

The lion muttered that his entire team was crazy, but begrudgingly climbed out of the turret and managed to balance himself on the roof of the vehicle. The lion's heart pounded as he thought about what he was doing. But knowing that truck could explode in the middle of a densely populated Zootopia neighborhood was all that kept him on track. As Alex pulled closer to the truck, Kion drew his sword in case he needed it. He prepared himself, and jumped onto the roof of the explosive truck. His counterpart must have heard the noise on the roof, and began to swerve to shake him off.

Kion jabbed his sword into the metal roof of the truck, just above the driver's side, and held on tight. His counterpart lost control of the vehicle while trying to swerve, and with a loud screech the vehicle crashed and skidded across the ground.

"Kion!" Jasiri screamed, but before any of the other heroes could do anything, a Chinese armored transport slammed into the car, making it spin out of control and crash as well.

000

Kion awoke, feeling a warm liquid running down his face, and feeling an ache all over his body. He looked around, and although his vision was blurry, he managed to examine his surroundings. He was in a city square, with rubble all around him, and he could spot the crashed truck of explosives, with his counterpart limping nearby.

Dark Kion messed around with a detonator, before cursing under his breath, and spotting his righteous equivalent laying on the pavement nearby. The evil warrior closed the gap between them, and although he hurt all over, Kion would not let his counterpart win. He jumped up, ignoring the pain and squared off with his opponent. Dark kion blocked the strikes and followed up with his own attacks. Although he was fighting with extreme ferocity, the Heroes operative knew that he was weakened from the crash, but he could only hope his counterpart was in the same predicament as well. However, the dark warrior was taking pleasure in toying with his opponent, and he chuckled to himself as he watched Kion get pummeled into submission. Kion kept attacking with powerful strikes, wanting to deal as much damage as possible to his opponent. However he underestimated the agility of his counterpart, who would easily dodge the strikes and follow up with retaliatory attacks.

The tide of the fight began to turn, with dark kion slamming his adversary into the side of a wrecked car, subduing him. The young Priderock then felt the pavement scraping against him as he was dragged along. But this now presented an opportunity. Kion suddenly pulled on one of his counterpart's legs, making him fall to the ground.

The warrior then grabbed a piece of rubble from the ground, and slammed his counterpart's face with it. Filled with anger at his counterpart, the lion followed up with multiple strikes, and didn't stop until he knew Dark Kion had sustained wounds he would not recover from, rendering him no longer a threat.

The victorious lion leaned back against the wrecked truck to rest, but a group of Chinese soldiers neared him, with their guns drawn. Even if they killed him, Kion was content that he had stopped his counterpart. He just hoped Jasiri would be alright. But before the Chinese could do anything they were struck by bullets and fell to the ground. Kion's allies raced to the scene, with Alex and Jasiri checking their friend out for wounds.

"Hey, what took you guys so long?" The lion joked, prompting Jasiri to give him a kiss, and Alex to proclaim that he would be fine. The captain breathed a sigh of relief, and made sure Dark Kion was indeed subdued, before calling in a bomb squad and a medical team. Another counterpart had been defeated, and with the remaining Chinese cleaned out of the city, the day was won.

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 **I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Next time we'll get a slower paced chapter like the kind this story really needs. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!**


	21. Chapter 21: Rebuilding

**I'm back with another exciting update for you guys! Before we get started I would like to thank JKnight97 for beta reading this chapter. Seriously dude, you are better than any automated program or grammar check software! Now, let us return to our heroes…..**

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The Chinese forces had been routed from Zootopia, but they had done immense damage to the city. Hundreds of structures had been blasted or destroyed, and rubble littered many streets. Wrecked Chinese ships sat in the bay; the fallen bodies of soldiers from both sides of the battle lay on the ground before being recovered; inoperable military vehicles were either crushed or broken down for scrap metal.

Instead of making another decisive strike on the Chinese, Heroes decided to stay and help out the rebuilding efforts in Zootopia. Once again, everyone took on a role, but instead of a combat mission, this time it was to help the wounded city. This was a place they knew and loved; they could not, in good conscience, leave the city behind laying in ruin.

Toothdee was helping a crew dismantle a few totaled armored vehicles. The munitions and explosives had been taken care of, but the carcasses of metal amidst the debris strewn around them still remained.

The young warrior was attaching cables to the vehicle wreckage so it could be lifted up by a crane, before she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Toothdee?"

She turned around to see Fabienne Growley behind her with a microphone and a cameraman. The camera was connected to a ZNN van, and an operator sat in the back, manning the screens and communications devices.

"Yes, Fabienne?"

"Would you be willing to give us a few moments of your time?"

"You want to talk to me?" Toothdee said, surprised she was being interviewed by a ZNN anchor.

"If you can, but if not that's fine."

"No, I can spare a few minutes of my time."

The trio stepped away from the ruined armored transport. Fabienne gave a signal to the operator and he pressed some buttons inside the van.

"This is a live interview." The news anchor said. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, fine by me." Toothdee said, fixing her fur up a bit to look good on camera, and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

The operator gave Fabienne a thumbs up.

"Hello, this is Fabienne Growley reporting live from the ravaged streets of Zootopia. I am joined by Toothdee, the Heroes warrior and combat expert" the feline said into the camera. "Could you tell us a bit more about the attack on Zootopia?"

"It was an all-out assault by the Chinese. Clearly, they wanted to take the city or inflict monumental damage. Luckily, we had multiple ships in the harbor, along with dozens of aircraft to help us in the fight."

"What was the fighting like?"

"Intense," said the warrior, as she maintained a serious tone that was appropriate for the current situation. "Armored vehicles were heavily used, and the fact that we were in a city forced the enemy into close quarters combat. Thankfully, the US Marine Corps quickly responded and helped Heroes beat back the threat."

"And we are all thankful for their speedy response. How much damage did the Chinese do to the city, and how are clean up efforts going?"

"Well as you can see..." Toothdee gestured to the demolished conveyances behind her. "A lot of damage has been inflicted on the city. Many buildings have been hit by munitions, and there are numerous demolished military equipment everywhere, some still containing live munitions. In the meantime we urge everyone to stay away from any area that has not been cleared of explosives or firearms. Heroes are assisting in clean-up operations, and soon, the city will be back to normal. It will take time, but we can repair all the infrastructure that was damaged during the battle for the city."

"I know many citizens will be glad to have things back to the way they were. Is there anything else you would like to say?"

Toothdee looked straight at the camera and spoke clearly.

"I know many mammals out there are frightened now that the war has come home. But we can endure. This city has weathered threats before, and I know the people here possess a strong will. We can rise from the damage the Chinese inflicted on us, and we can survive anything else they throw at us."

"Thank you for those kind words."

Toothdee moved out of the way of the camera and breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped her words had inspired the residents of Zootopia, as hearts and minds are what win wars, and Toothdee really wanted to win this war. The Chinese had started this conflict, but the US would finish it, with Heroes being more than happy to help the country. As the young hero walked away to return to her work, she overheard Fabienne continuing to talk to the camera.

"Like she said, we can we can rally together from this devastating event, and show the Chinese they haven't broken our spirit. Don't forget that there is plenty you can do around the city to help with the war effort, or clean-up operations. However as mentioned, if you want to volunteer to clean up debris, please make sure the site has been cleared of dangerous material by military personnel ."

Toothdee continued working with the crew removing the armored vehicles, but within a few minutes, civilians started showing up and asking how they could help. Some mammals didn't even wait for an invitation, and they started picking up debris and rubble and tossing it into a dumpster nearby. The area had been deemed safe, as it had already been cleared by specially trained personnel that had removed or destroyed any firearms ordinance they came across.

Toothdee was glad to see individuals so enthusiastically helping in clean up efforts, it gave her a sense of hope, and that all was not lost. She just hoped the Chinese wouldn't make another assault on the city.

000

The ZPD had been working overtime since the Chinese attacked the city. Although the military had stepped in to help with security, they had other, more pressing needs pertaining to the war effort. Many officers had given their lives in defense of Zootopia, and the department had to continue to function with them gone. They needed to deter mammals trying to take advantage of the situation, and help civilian life function with parts of the city heavily damaged.

Nick and Judy had been stationed in an area of the rainforest district where some shops had been looted earlier, and they were keeping a vigilant watch. Heroes did pay them well, and it was a great way to make the world a better place, but the ZPD was where they belonged. Chief Bogo was alright with the two working with Heroes, possibly because they were still helping to enforce law and order in a broken world. Or it may be because the fox and bunny still functioned as police officers, except now they were donating their skills to Heroes, almost like an operator exchange program. Having two ZPD officers on the team really helped out with missions in Zootopia or other dense urban areas. No one was more familiar with the workings of cities than Nick and Judy. Both were also proficient in firearms usage as part of their ZPD training, so they knew how to handle tough situations.

However, they were bored today; sitting in their cruiser while keeping an eye out for illegal activity. Nothing had transpired in the hours they had been stationed in the rainforest district. The pair had been playing cards to pass the time, and right now they were in the middle of another game.

"Got any threes?" Nick asked.

"Go fish."

The fox picked up another card from the deck and muttered about how boring this assignment was.

"Hey it's all part of making the world a better place." Judy said.

"Call Toothdee. Maybe she'll have work for us?"

"She's busy helping to clean up the city."

"Oh, well, why don't you tell me what's been bothering you? I can tell you're upset about something, Carrots."

"Well, I've been thinking about everyone's dark counterparts, and what that means for us. If Dark Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde could be so evil, what's stopping the same from happening to us?"

"Hmmm... I'm unsure how to respond to that..."

"Maybe we should take some precautions? Maybe there's some way we can make sure that we don't become like our counterparts."

"Well, I think right now we should worry about stopping our counterparts. Then, we can worry about ourselves."

"True, we can put this topic on the back burner for now. By the way, got any fives?"

"Go fish."

The rabbit sighed and looked out the window towards a shop that had been damaged by gunfire from a Chinese aircraft.

"I don't like what happened here." Judy said, her ears drooping. "I wanted to help the world, help Zootopia, but now the city has been attacked."

"I know, it's depressing." Nick said, putting down his cards. "I wish we could have done something different and prevented this."

The duo sat in guilty silence for a moment, thinking about the destruction that had been unleashed upon Zootopia, and how it was somehow their fault. Looking into each other's eyes, the pair instinctively reached out and hugged; Nick wrapping Judy in his tail while Judy nuzzled into his chest. They both wanted to stop their dark counterparts and the Chinese, while continuing to make the world a better place. It was a driving goal for both of them, and why they would stop at nothing until order had been restored.

"We'll make it right, Carrots, I promise."

000

Retsuko and Haida wanted nothing more than to go out and find a karaoke place to while away the night, but they had unfinished business aboard the Typhoon. Having previously worked in an office accounting department, their minds were finetuned machines capable of processing and managing vast amounts of numbers and information. Today, that meant dealing with reports and data of all types coming in from around Zootopia. Damage dealt to structures, disruption of normal operations for various organizations, info about the Chinese attack, among other topics. They had to sift through this mountain of information, so Heroes and Zootopia could better use it. Comprehensively analyzing the damage inflicted on the city would help destroyed areas return back to operating strength. Knowledge was power, and they were part of the process that allowed that fact to ring true.

While their job wasn't as exciting as getting out in the field and fighting the enemy, it was an integral part of operations. Finished paper reports were organized in a neat pile by the entrance of the room they worked in, and electronic copies were sent to the people that needed them, and out into the Heroes database.

Haida had just finished sending a list of US casualties to a military officer, and he could feel the stress starting to set in.

Retsuko was busy working on a file relating to the cost of damages to a skyscraper, but the hyena figured she could use something to drink and eat.

"Tea and sushi?" Haida said, getting up and heading for the door. "A fresh shipment of supplies just arrived."

"Yes, please." The red panda responded, her eyes not moving from the computer screen.

Haida made his way to the Typhoon's kitchen, which was better equipped than most military kitchens. Heroes had fully recognized that good food helped a warrior both physically and mentally, and as such the ship was fully stocked with food for all species.

Placing a teapot on the stove and prepping the ingredients for the sushi, Haida reflected once again on how his current job was so much better than his last one. The bosses he had now didn't yell at him, and were sure to thank him for his work. He could see that this was the same for Retsuko, and Haida was happy to see his red panda girlfriend loving her job again.

Once the meal was ready, Haida set two cups of tea and a couple of plates of sushi on a wooden tray and returned to Retsuko, who had just finished the file she had been working on, and was pulling up a new one.

The smell of food broke Retsuko away from her work, and she spun around to enjoy the meal with her hyena.

"I made your favorite." Haida said, giving his red panda her meal.

"Thank you, Haida." Retsuko said, giving her boyfriend a kiss on the nose as thanks. The hyena blushed madly and nervously rubbed the back of his head. He tried in vain to create small talk.

"So... what have you been... uh... working on?"

"Just some files about damaged structures. What about you?"

"Well, I finished a list of casualties. Unfortunately, there were a lot. You know, I like this job, but all this destruction does is make me stop and pause."

"Me, too." Retsuko said between sips of tea. "It's not exactly cheerful, but it's just something we must deal with."

The hyena nodded before Retsuko smiled slightly. "Don't tell me your thinking of leaving this job."

"Of course not! I love this job! You know how much of an improvement it is over working in the accounting department."

Retsuko giggled. "You know I was really thrown for a loop when we started working here, to the point where I actually made Toothdee a cup of tea, like I used to for the higher ups back at the office."

"You did not!" The hyena laughed, nearly choking on his sushi.

"She had such a strange look on her face. She told me 'you don't need to do this.' But she did appreciate the kind gesture."

Haida laughed again and tried to imagine the look on Toothdee's face.

"Although that doesn't mean you can stop getting me tea, Haida." Retsuko said, grateful for the fact that he had been thinking of her.

"Noted. Remember how I said all the destruction made me pause and think? I do take some solace in knowing that what we're doing helps fix it."

"All our work is not wasted. Without us, I don't know exactly how much would get done."

"I hope to see some improvements in Zootopia after I get through all these files. Someone better use them to repair the city!"

The pair finished their meal and Haida moved to clean up the dishes before Retsuko stopped him.

"I got this." She said, putting the dishes on the tray. "You can get back to helping people by working on those files."

"Ok, thank you, Retsuko."

"No, thank _you_ for the lovely meal, Haida." The little red panda paused to stand on tip toe and planted a smooch on her surprised boyfriend's mouth. She giggled as she exited the room, leaving a dazed and happy hyena in her wake.

000

The sun was setting on Zootopia, but many people continued to work to repair the broken city. Captain Boehm and some workers had just finished cleaning up concrete debris on a highway, allowing for faster travel for all mammals. The Captain had been working all day, and while there was still a lot to do, he was ready to go to bed. He sat down on a bench and almost fell asleep as he waited for JayJay to come pick him up with one of the vehicles from the Typhoon in order to take him back to the ship.

The wolf soon arrived, but she wasn't driving a vehicle, instead she was walking down the street.

"JayJay? Where's the car?"

"Actually, my place isn't far from here. I figured we could walk there instead of having to go all the way back to the Typhoon. It would be a nice change of pace."

"Eh... I'm not sure."

Alex thought about how he wouldn't have any of his personal effects. He didn't like to be without his things.

"I think I have a spare toothbrush you can use, and a phone charger."

"...uh... Alright, fair enough."

"It's a cozy little place, you'll enjoy it."

The pair began to walk towards the wolf's apartment, while discussing what they had been doing that day. Both of them were exhausted from trying to help the city, as being a paragon for peace and order was not all about heroic missions into enemy territory.

"What projects did you work on today?" Alex asked as he watched his companion rub her shoulder.

"Helped a grocery store get back on its feet and some people to clean up their apartment block among other things. What about you?"

"Cleared some concrete debris off a highway and unloaded some emergency food supplies from a Red Cross truck."

"I'm _definitely_ gonna feel sore tomorrow."

"By the way, is there a place for me to sleep at your apartment?"

"Sure, you can take the bed, I'll have the couch."

"What, I don't want to kick you out of your bed. I'll take the couch, I'm the guest after all."

"That's exactly why I want to give you the bed, so you can have a nice sleep while visiting my abode."

"I can sleep fine on a couch, or even a floor with pillows."

"You know, if you're comfortable with it, we could try sharing the bed," JayJay hesitantly suggested. "I think it's big enough for the both of us."

"Erm… Okay, that seems fair. I just don't want you to give up your bed for me."

The pair arrived at the apartment complex and found their way to JayJay's dwelling. The wolf opened the door to her apartment with a key and theatrically swept a paw to show off her place. The wolf's apartment was very nice, and included amenities such as a bathroom and kitchen. Lots of items in the apartment were a bright color, which reflected the wolf's upbeat personality, as evidenced by the clothes she wore.

Alex sat down on the couch, relieved that he was able to sit, while JayJay flipped on the lights.

"Do you want something to eat?" She asked, going into the kitchen and disappearing out of sight, "I have this nice little snack container I think you'd like."

Alex turned on the TV and tried to find something for them to watch, eventually settling on a movie that was playing. The wolf came back with two cups of juice and a plastic container that was divided up into 6 sections, each of which had a different kind of snack. It had grapes, carrots, jerky, cheese, nuts, and crackers. JayJay sat down right next to Alex and the pair feasted on the delicious snack while drinking their juice and watching the TV. Both were overjoyed that they could spend time with each other, without needing to worry.

"I like this jerky." Alex said, taking another piece from the container.

"So do I, wolves actually need protein to survive."

"So do humans; we also need protein in our diet. Also, what makes living a little sweeter is having a nice wolf friend."

"Aww, well life is certainly better when you're a wolf with a kind human friend." JayJay concurred, her tail wagging in agreement.

As the pair watched TV and relaxed from their long day, JayJay eventually felt comfortable enough to rest her head on Alex's shoulder. The Captain felt a soft form pressing against him. Enjoying the contact and wanting to do something in return, Alex reached over the sofa and put his arm around her, causing the wolf to sigh contentedly and wrap her tail around the two of them.

"Is this okay?" JayJay asked, not wanting Alex to feel nervous or uncomfortable. "Do you mind?"

"No, I don't. Your fur's all soft and warm. I mean.. uh.."

The Captain chuckled to himself and realized he was probably being a little too straightforward with his friend. He didn't want to weird her out. But the wolf just snuggled closer, so he could feel more of her fur.

"This is nice." JayJay said, closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep. But, without warning, the wolf picked up her head and planted a sweet kiss on the Captain's face. Both mammals blushed madly, being extremely nervous about what just happened. Eventually Alex managed to ask about what prompted this act of affection.

"Was that for luck?"

"No, that was for me."

"Well, let me know if you need to do that again. I'd be more than happy to oblige."

The pair continued watching movies till their eyelids grew heavy, eventually falling asleep on the couch., The two heroes, tired from working all day, instinctively curled into one another, with Alex forming the big spoon as he held his friend close to his chest in his sleep. The TV eventually shut off due to inactivity, and the room became silent as the two warriors rested and recharged together.

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 **And that's a wrap! Another slower paced chapter to balance out all the action and conflict! The next chapter is also slower paced like this one, so stay tuned!**


	22. Chapter 22: Force Of Vengeance

**Hello, I hope everyone is staying safe in this difficult time. I wish all of you the best, and don't forget to social distance!**

 **Here is another chapter for you all to enjoy while in quarantine. Once again I would like to thank JKnight97 for beta reading this!**

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Dark Alex stood on the darkened bridge of the black typhoon, gazing out at an ocean that was only illuminated by the moon and stars. Dark Toothdee entered the room, having been told that her companion wanted to speak to her.

"What do you propose we do?" Dark Alex said. "We've lost three of our number, Jasiri has gone off the grid, and our assault force in Zootopia was decimated."

"I know about our failures, but we will make sure the deaths of our allies were not in vain."

"We sought a conflict that we could enjoy, an enemy that would truly test us on the field of battle. So far I see only victories for our enemy."

Dark Toothdee brought up a few battle strategies on one of the ship's screens. Dark Alex examined the tactics his friend had created, and his mood instantly changed.

"We both know Zootopia holds major tactical and strategic significance. Taking it would be a great victory in this war. We may have failed the first time, however, I have some other attack plans that we can put into action."

"I like them. I assume you have factored in our enemy's grit?"

"Of course, and even if the US and Heroes are able to best our forces, these attacks will serve to wear down their defenses and will to fight."

"And then we can move in for the kill when the time is right. Everything will come to a head, as we watch our enemy slide further into failure. Oh, I shall enjoy slowly wearing down our foes and then moving in to finish them off."

Dark Alex resumed looking out at the black sea, his mood having improved slightly.

"We may have lost a few battles," he said. "But the war is far from over."

"This conflict has been enjoyable to me. I take pleasure in fighting the best, and slaughtering them like the weaklings they are."

Dark Toothdee joined Dark Alex by the window, already imagining the damage the Chinese could inflict on Zootopia, and how disastrous it would be for the United States. She was more than happy to voice her satisfaction.

"In time, we will break our enemy."

"Good, I will enjoy repaying their actions in kind. There is another matter I'm concerned with. I have been hearing rumors that some reports and hard evidence regarding Operation Matchstrike have gotten out into the world."

"I am aware, in this age everything is in some way recorded in triplicate, so there will be some sort of record. But we cannot risk hard evidence getting out. I have done my best to keep everything under lock and key. Destroy any unneeded files, or hide them somewhere so no one will ever find them. Without any evidence, nothing can be proven. As far as the world is concerned, there are only rumors."

The Dark warrior thought for a moment before his companion spoke again.

"And, if all they hear are rumors and half truths, perhaps that could be used to our advantage."

"Psychological warfare, rumors, doubt. Directed towards our most dangerous opponents. Ha, my, you really are brilliant."

000

Alex awoke, acutely aware of JayJay nestled in his arms. He was greeted by a dark room whose only light came streaming in from the outside. The female wolf was still sleeping peacefully, and the captain hoped she was in the middle of a good dream.

He carefully disentangled himself from his furry companion's grasp and slowly got up. Although the couch wasn't too bad, Alex figured they would be more comfortable in bed. JayJay had offered to share it after all. He blindly fumbled around the darkened apartment, nearly bumping into furniture. Eventually, the captain found the entrance bathroom, and subsequently, the door to the bedroom. Flipping the light switch, he took in the view. It was a nice room and, like the rest of the apartment, it was filled with bright colors. Alex thought the door to the room seemed fancy because it had all sorts of designs on it. There was a covered bed, and just above it a shelf with an assortment of objects on it, such as a jewelry box and a hairbrush.

Returning to the living room, the captain gently picked up the sleeping wolf and carried her into the bedroom, taking care not to wake her. Thankfully, she was still asleep when Alex put her down on the bed. Since it was still the middle of the night and he still needed rest, Boehm climbed into bed next to the wolf and put his arm around her. JayJay made a pleased sound as he did, making the captain happy to hear it. Closing his eyes, he drew her closer to his chest and parked his head on her shoulder. Breathing in her familiar and comforting scent, Alex quickly returned to a peaceful slumber.

000

Although it was very late, Kion and Jasiri were still awake, spending quality time together. Kion had begun feeling better, even though he had taken a beating from his counterpart. Nothing serious had been damaged, and a lot of rest had done him well.

The couple had used survival equipment to create a campsite on top of the typhoon, thinking it would be a lot of fun to pretend they were out camping. They had erected a tent, held in place by four heavy containers, as they couldn't force stakes into the typhoon. They had even set up a small campfire using an elevated fire pit. If it tipped over, it wouldn't damage the ship's hull as its armor was solid metal. While sitting on a blanket and toasting marshmallows on the fire, the pair looked up at the night sky in an attempt to see stars. However the bright lights of the city made stargazing difficult, forcing Jasiri to use an app on her phone to find out where certain celestial bodies would be.

"Let's see, there's the Andromeda Galaxy." Jasiri said, using a claw to point to an object on the phone screen.

Kion was clearly impressed, and paid close attention to the objects Jasiri was pointing out. The hyena went through a few planets in the solar system, along with constellations and a few satellites.

"Do you think mammals will ever get to those stars and planets out there?" Kion asked. "I know we've already been to the moon, but I wonder if we'll ever have colonies on other planets."

"I think it's inevitable, Kion. Sooner or later someone will make a base up there. I think we have the technology."

"It's just hard to believe that will happen, considering the fighting we're doing amongst ourselves."

"This war is just a temporary thing. I believe there will come a time when mammals will colonize the stars." There was wonder in Jasiri's voice as she spoke. "Colonists will leave Earth behind to make a new life on other planets. I don't know when it will happen; maybe long after we're gone. But who knows, it's possible that in a few hundred or thousand years we'll even get to Andromeda. Crossing the vast space between galaxies to become an intergalactic race."

"Wow, talk about making me feel small."

"Hey, to the world, you might be one lion, but to one certain hyena, you're the world."

"Auughhhh!" Kion suddenly yelled as he screamed in pain, clutching his chest.

"What's wrong?" Jasiri asked in worry as she rushed to her mate's side.

"I'm… dying," the lion gasped as he threw an arm to his forehead. "Oh, the cheesiness cuts me to the quick." Kion quipped as he waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, you–" Jasiri huffed, pushing him away, belatedly realizing she realized she had fallen for his joke. "Jerk!"

Kion smiled and looked at his girlfriend with loving eyes. "C'mon, hun, don't be sore. You know I like to tease you, every now and then."

"Still," Jasiri complained, her back still turned to him, "that wasn't funny. Especially since what you went through."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that." Kion whispered as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, catching her paws in his. "It was kinda mean of me."

"Yeah, it was," the hyena said, her tone softening. "You can be such an arsehole at times."

"But, I'm your arsehole, right?" the lion asked longingly, as he drew her closer.

"Fine," Jasiri relented as she turned in his grasp to face him. "You're forgiven."

Kion lovingly gazed into her face. He sought her muzzle with his, sharing a long kiss with her.

The sweet moment was interrupted when Kion noticed his marshmallow had caught fire. The lion quickly waved the stick with the marshmallow back and forth to try and put it out, but ultimately failed and threw the stick into the fire.

Jasiri laughed and teased Kion by having him watch her slowly put her perfectly toasted marshmallow in her mouth.

The lion leaned in and kissed his hyena again, in the process managing to get a bite of the marshmallow in her mouth.

Jasiri tried to say something, but since her mouth was full, all she could do was try to stop him from eating her marshmallow. She was unsuccessful.

After another fit of laughter, Kion yawned and suggested the pair retire to the tent. Jasiri questioned if the fire needed to be put out, but Kion figured there was nothing around it that would catch fire.

As the pair lovingly cuddled in the tent, they were blissfully unaware of a pair of eyes watching them from the rooftop of a nearby building.

The figure watched them through a spotter scope, and she could easily see the affection the couple had. She was angered by this. After all, she used to be the object of the romantic advances the lion made. Now that he was gone, those loving moments would never happen again. She ached to shoot the both of them now. However, it would be more enjoyable to stare her enemies in the eyes while she snuffed out their lives.

She vowed to make her counterpart feel the same pain she felt now, by taking away that which she loved.

000

Sunbeams streamed in through the window, basking the bedroom in bright light. With a yawn, Captain Boehm rubbed his eyes as he stirred and turned in bed. Recalling that JayJay was still sleeping right next to him, he stopped moving so as not to wake her. The wolf still had a smile on her face, and the captain thought she looked very peaceful as she got her beauty rest. However her peaceful demeanor soured a bit as he got out of the bed. Even in her sleep, the wolf noticed his absence.

As he exited the bedroom, Alex felt his hard work yesterday coming back to him. His legs and arms were sore, but that was a small price to pay for helping to rebuild a city. He wished he could just spend the day in bed, but Heroes had training exercises scheduled, and it was important to keep his skills sharp. Alex wondered how long JayJay would sleep in. He wanted to surprise her and make breakfast considering she had been kind enough to prepare a snack the night before.

Finding his way to the kitchen, Boehm looked in the cabinets, finding two coffee mugs, and headed over to the coffeemaker. He picked up one of the coffee pods next to the machine and read over some of the text on the label.

"Made specially for wolves?" Alex said, surprised that someone was making coffee like this. After a quick google search to make sure it was consumable by humans, he put one of the coffee pods into the coffee maker and started it up.

With both cups made, Alex poured cream and sugar in his, but left JayJay's black as he didn't know what she liked.

"Morning!"

The captain turned and saw JayJay entering the kitchen.

"Hey there, did you sleep well?"

"Like a log." The wolf said, stretching out her arms and tail.

"I made some coffee, I didn't know what you liked in yours though."

"Oh, thank you." She said, taking the cup and going to put in cream and sugar.

Alex took a sip of his coffee and JayJay grew slightly concerned.

"This is specially made for wolves. Can humans drink it?"

"Don't worry, I googled it. It's totally fine."

The two enjoyed their drinks before JayJay inquired as to what events were happening during the day.

"So what's on the agenda for today?"

"Me and Toothdee originally planned to have the team do some battle exercises today. Although I am really bushed from yesterday."

"Yep, same here. My legs and arms are sore."

JayJay rubbed her shoulder to relieve some of the pain.

"Well, we have to keep our skills sharp. I'll see if Toothdee will agree to shorten the exercises."

"I had fun last night, thank you."

"Same here, those were some good movies. And a good cuddling session."

"Aww, I enjoyed it too."

"Stop by my room on the typhoon sometimes, we can play a game or just hang out."

"I might have to take you up on that sometime."

"It's not as colorful as your apartment, but I can assure you it's nice."

The pair kept talking and enjoying the little bit of relaxation time they had. Soon they would be back on the frontlines of the war. However, it was nice to enjoy any moments they could get, where they could only focus on each other, and not have to worry about the world.

000

Later in the day, the Typhoon flew to some plains outside of Zootopia so the team could do combat exercises. The large swaths of grass would be the perfect environment to practice everyone's skills. Alex was already thinking about pairing himself up with JayJay for the exercises. Not only to hang out with his wolf, but also so he would have an opponent that was just as sore and tired like he was.

After the ship landed, everyone prepared their gear and headed outside. There was plenty of space for training. In the distance, the plains gave way to a thick forest.

Toothdee, Nick, and Judy were the first ones to leave the ship. Nick was carrying the combat bow he used during the Chinese assault on Zootopia. The weapon was a recurve bow instead of a compound bow and was equipped with a sight and foliage camouflage. The fox was talking to Judy about how he liked bows, while the bunny attempted to ensure he wouldn't try shooting an apple off someone's head.

Kion yawned as he and Jasiri exited the typhoon, having stayed up late the night before. Toothdee noticed the couple's sluggish movements.

"Long night?" She teased. Kion didn't say anything, choosing to ignore the jest. Toothdee decided to try her luck on Alex, who also looked like he had a rough night.

"Long night?"

"Long day yesterday." The Captain responded. "Can we shorten these exercises? Me and JayJay are sore from yesterday."

"I was gonna suggest that to you. I could use a break after working so hard in the city cleaning up the damage from the Chinese assault."

"Well, great minds think alike."

"Uh, Alex?" Nick said, tapping the captain to get his attention.

"Yeah?"

"What or who's that?"

The fox pointed towards the tree line, where a figure was standing just in front of the dense forest. Upon closer inspection, they recognized Dark Jasiri, her sword on her back, and her eyes staring fiercely at the crew of the typhoon.

"That's... a problem." Alex said, feeling a rush of adrenaline.

Everyone prepared for battle as Dark Jasiri approached them, stopping a few meters away.

"I am not here for any of you," the hyena said "I'm here for the lion."

The dark warrior pointed at Kion, as a surprised look quickly crossed his face.

"He killed the one I loved, and now I will make him feel the same pain he makes me feel!"

The hyena drew her blade and pressed the button on the central handle, causing the thin blades and the central ring to spin around the handle which sat inside the ring.

"Wow, first Dark Eris and now Dark Jasiri." Toothdee said to Alex, "They seem to go crazy when we kill their mates. Maybe we can use this weakness against them."

The Captain nodded, but he sincerely hoped his allies were not as hot headed as his adversaries, and could keep their cool in a similar situation. Any rash actions from an upset warrior could be detrimental to Heroes operations in any hypothetical situation. Kion prepared himself for battle, but Jasiri stopped him.

"If you want Kion, you'll have to go through me." The hyena declared, grabbing Kion's sword off his back and getting in a battle stance, surprising the lion in the process.

"Fine," Dark Jasiri said "killing him would be too merciful. Instead, I'll take the one he loves."

"You don't need to do this." Kion said to his mate.

"She's my counterpart, this is my fight." Jasiri grunted, stepping away from the group of heroes as she readied for battle. She also wanted to protect her mate. Jasiri wouldn't let this dark enemy hurt Kion.

The two hyenas stood still for a moment, staring each other down, before they both charged forward. Swords clashed together sending sparks flying as the pair fought each other.

The other heroes just watched anxiously as the battle increased in intensity. They hoped Jasiri would emerge victorious, and they were ready to jump in in case her evil counterpart got the upper paw. Even Haida and Retsuko watched the battle from their view from the Typhoon. Haida was nervously grasping a can of coffee as if he was watching a televised sports match.

Both warriors had great agility, and they were clearly using that in the battle. As time went on, the pair sustained injuries as they managed to land hits, however these were not serious wounds. Whenever Jasiri sustained a hit, her allies tensed up, watching the marks appear on her armor and body.

Dark Jasiri managed to push her opponent on her back, and got ready for a powerful downwards strike to kill Jasiri.

Haida's paw reflexively clenched into a fist at the sight, crushing his coffee can and sending the beverage all over himself and the window. Other Heroes raised their pistols and prepared to fire. But before they could shoot, Jasiri rolled out of the way as her dark counterpart brought the sword down, hitting the ground.

This only angered the evil hyena more, and she activated the spinning function on her blade. The ring and blades rotated around parallel to the handle, creating a lethal disc as Dark Jasiri moved forward. Stepping black as the spinning blades of death came closer and closer, Jasiri saw an opening and took her chance. She stuck her sword inside the central ring where the handle sat, which was unprotected by the rotating blades. Jasiri then swung her sword with all her might, hitting the ring and causing the spinning weapon to fly out of the hands of Dark Jasiri.

The sword spun through the air, causing the other heroes to duck before the weapon embedded itself in the ground nearby.

"Yield, if you know what's good for you." Jasiri said, prompting the dark warrior to begrudgingly get down on her knees. The young hero turned to head back to her allies in order to determine the next best course of action with her counterpart. Dark Jasiri took this opportunity to draw a pistol from her belt. Recognizing the sound of a weapon being drawn, Jasiri pulled out one of her own pistols, spun around to land in a crouch, and shot her counterpart in the chest with a volley of bullets. The deadly projectiles embedded themselves in the hyena's body as smoke rose from Jasiri's gun barrels. Dark Jasiri felt the wound she had sustained, and her eyes went wide as she realized this was the end. The hyena stared at the assembled heroes before her strength left her, and she slumped over, dead. The warriors finally breathed a sigh of relief as they watched Jasiri's evil twin's face hit the dirt. They had been sitting on pins and needles this whole battle, worrying for their friend, but it was over, and she had won.

"You did it, girl." Kion said, patting his girlfriend on the shoulder.

"Thank you." She said, nuzzling Kion as the lion took back his sword.

Toothdee examined the fallen villain that Jasiri had dealt with. "Another one bites the dust."

With a fourth dark counterpart having been defeated, the team proceeded with battle exercises. Their skills had been sharpened and their morale had been boosted. It was time to resume their efforts in the war.

 **00000000000000**

 **Well, there's another exciting chapter for you! Hope everyone enjoyed it! stay safe!**


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